Monster Hunter Freedom Origins
by Icowa
Summary: And the adventure begins .. in the wonderful world of MONSTER HUNTER FREEDOM..
1. Chapter 1

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Chapter 1

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The man ran through the jungle, heedless of the small branches that slap against his face. Nothing much matters to him now, nothing but the sight of the thick column of smoke rising up to the heavens in front of him, the thick column that bellows forth from his village.

He didn't stop to think what was going on. He didn't like asking questions anyway. All he knew is that he had to get to his village as soon as he could. His legs had started to give his brain signals of fatigue, but it did not stop him from racing on across the bridge to the west side of his village.

Entering the inner perimeter of his village, he could only watch in helpless horror at all the carnage around him. Houses burned fiercely, bodies everywhere, either burnt or decapitated. The heat generated by the burning homes was intense, but the thick protective armor he wore, specialized in helping his kind hunt in the volcanic regions, kept him from roasting where he stood.

Without further thoughts, he began running around the raging inferno, shouting out the names of everyone that he knew, hoping to hear the sound of answers, knowing in his heart that he would never hear them answer him.

"Jasla!! Carriel!! Leanor!! Anybody!! ANSWER ME!!"

Name after name he roared until his feet took him to where his home was located. Tears streaming down his face, he watched through a blurry vision his burning home.

"MOM!!!!!! SARAH!!!!!!!" he roared in anguish, dropping down on one knee.

Then several figures appeared in his vision. The several figures were blurred away by his tears. The sight of the figures however, evaporated his tears almost immediately, allowing him to focus on them with burning hatred.

He could see clearly now that there were six of them, three of which held burning torches, all of them brandished a bloody blade in their hands. Knowing that these people were responsible for the destruction of his village, he leapt to his legs and sprinted toward them, shouting his battle cry.

One of the figures pointed a finger at him.

"_Muchak Nar_!"

The other five figures leapt out for the man, figuring on an easy kill. Thus the leader was surprised when the man, timing his overhead swing perfectly, swung his great sword out of his sheath and down on one of his men. His companion desperately brought its own blade up in an attempt to parry the swing, but it didn't help him at all.

The Great sword swung down with brutal strength, sliced the blade completely in two, and cleaved the foe in half. Hissing in anger, the leader leapt forward to join his companions in attacking this insolent human.

The five were now attacking the man, but seemed unable to strike him. He was definitely a skilled warrior, no slow oaf like the rest of the villagers. The figures would have to dispatch this human first before they could continue their search.

One of the beings made a swipe at the man, but the man planted his great sword solidly on the ground, blocking his blow skillfully. What amazed them next was when the man, using his sword stuck on the ground, vaulted over it and planted a nice solid flying kick to the face of their leader.

There was an audible crack as the jaw of their leader broke from the force of the kick. Aiming a slice to the back of the insolent human after he landed, it was frustrated beyond measure when the man, as if expecting an attack from the rear, made a backward roll towards his own sword, rolling under the attack.

Reaching for his sword, the man ripped it out of the ground and twisting his body in a circle, made a low tornado slash and decapitated three of the beings heads from their torsos and sliced off the sword arm of the forth, sending the clawed hand, still holding the blade, to fly off.

Breathing heavily, the man advanced on the weaponless being. Gripping its severed arm in its other hand, hissing in agony all the while, the creature was bent over in agony and never saw the great sword descending on its neck, ending its life.

Then the man heard a sound from his rear. He tried to recover his balance from his overhead swing but his legs, having being strained to the point of breaking on his run back to his village, couldn't move him out of harms way fast enough.

A blade slid through his back and out through his stomach, its tip stained a dark red by his blood. Screaming in agony, the man swirled his great sword in a back hand swipe. The head of the leader, with its hanging broken jaw, flew a good fifteen feet away while its body slumped lifelessly behind the man.

Dropping down on both his knees and letting his great sword fall onto the ground, the man watched in disbelief at the tip of the blade sticking out of his stomach. He was snarling more in defiance than in pain, he reached behind him, took a good firm grip of the blade and snapped it off. With his other hand gripping the blade from the front, he pulled it out, screaming in agony as the blade slid out of his stomach.

After all this, the man had gone way beyond his limits, the pain had become too much. He slumped forward with his head facing the side. The tears that had burned away in his rage came back once again.

"Sarah!!" he whispered softly to himself.

Then as his vision started fading, he saw another of the creatures walking towards him. This creature was tall, taller than the six he fought, but more slender. With green scales covering its body, a slim tail swinging behind, the head looked liked it belonged to that of a lizard. The only difference he noticed on this figure is that it wore a necklace with a purple gemstone hanging on it, while the others he had fought were stark naked.

"I'm coming Mom. Wait for me" he thought as he felt the smooth waters of darkness overtake his mind.

Opening his eyes slowly, he realized he was no longer lying out in the open. He was now in a cave, with a small fire burning nearby. Turning his head weakly to the side, his eyes widened and then narrowed in swift anger. But he was still in pain and his body seemed to have gone numb all over. All he could do was make a low angry growl.

The lizard man sitting on the other side of the fire raised its head and saw that the man was awake. It stood up. It was only then that the man realized that this lizard man was a lizard _woman._

Walking to his side, the creature knelt down beside him and put a clawed hand on his chest, as if feeling for his heart beat.

Raising a finger to her lip, she hissed, "Shh, be silent, you are injured badly and you might attract the others."

"Why?!" the man managed to croak.

"Answers you will have, young man. But for now, rest and soon I will tell you all you need to know when you are well."

Noticing the man's eyes widen in puzzlement, she spoke softly, "Have you not heard of my kind before?"

The man found he could not speak anymore through his pain, so he shook his head slowly from side to side.

The Lizard woman sighed, "It is to be expected I suppose, but no more questions, rest now and all will be revealed in due time."

But the man would not rest, his hand snapped up and gripped her by her hand, surprising the both of them with its strength.

"My… people….they…"

The lizard woman's eyes grew sorrowful and she shook her head slowly.

"I am sorry, I tried to save as many as I could, but I am one against many. All I could do is save those that mattered." With those words, the lizard woman glanced to the left side of the cave. Following her gaze, the man saw two small bundles put on top of a pile of soft dry leaves.

"The babies are fine."

The man turned back to gaze at the lizard woman in surprise.

"But they are going to need your strength."

Understanding her meaning and accepting her rebuke, he let go of her hand and let his hand drop back to his side. But still, he continued to look at the lizard woman, a question burning in his mind.

As if she could read every thought in his head, the lizard woman smiled gently (or as gently as a scaly face like that could, at least), "I am called Lyrexis".

The man then suddenly drifted off to a healing sleep.

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End of Chapter 1

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Author notes, A big thank you to Punkzombie from Gamefaqs forum who helped in editing my silly grammatical errors in this chapter and his wonderful support for my fanfiction. Thank you, my friend.


	2. Chapter 2

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**Chapter 2**

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……. 18 years later …….

Sweat started dripping down the side of his face, the tension of his fear and excitement both making him clench and unclench his hands on his longsword. Knowing that would hinder his reflexes, he forced himself to breathe slowly through his nose, all the while keeping his back firmly pressed against the trunk of the tree.

The forest was quiet now. Too quiet. As an experienced hunter, he knew that all the animals have gone to ground, instinctively knowing that a Rathian was lurking about, searching for him.

There was a snap of a twig right behind the tree he was leaning against. His breathing unconsciously increased and his grip tightened on his sword.

Without warning, the sound of trees being rendered resounded all around him and he quickly rolled away from the tree. Half a second later, he leaped out of his roll and turn back to watch in grim horror as the tree was rent in two. If he hadn't rolled out of the way, his split body would have toppled along with the massive tree.

Holding his sword straight out in front of him, he watched in tensed silence as the Rathian slowly turned around to faced him, having used its spiky tail to slash through several trees in a half circle.

The creature was huge. It had to be at least one hundred and twenty feet in length. All his life, he had never met a Wyvern and it was just his luck he ran into such a huge specimen during one of his hunts. The greenish tinted scales glinted magnificently from the few rays of sunlight that managed to penetrate the forest canopy.

Thinking to himself that those scales would make one heck of a fine armor, the huge wyvern suddenly opened its maw as if to screamed out its anger at having him enter her territory. Knowing that he was about to be subjected to a high pitched scream, a method used by most wyverns in an attempt to stun hunters for a brief moment, the hunter braced himself and hunkered down a little with his sword prepared to slash or swipe at the wyvern.

But instead of screaming, the wyvern spoke, "WAKE UP YOU LAZY OAF!!" This was followed by the distant sound of someone giggling.

His eyebrows flew up in surprise and he momentarily lost his composure, "Huh??!!"

Then all of a sudden, it felt like something was crawling up the left side of his cheek, causing it to itch unmercifully. He longed to scratch it, but scratching it would mean he would have to let one hand go of his sword. Not a good idea with a Rathian staring at him from across the splintered tree.

The Rathian seemed to be grinning at him, "I said, WAKE UP!!"

"Wyverns can talk?!" he thought to himself.

Itch itch...

He couldn't help it, he quickly moved his left hand from gripping his sword and slapped his left cheek. As though this was what the Rathian was waiting for, the huge wyvern launched itself at him and he knew he was a goner.

Then he was suddenly smothered by something soft and fluffy, he couldn't breathe. Struggling fiercely, he sat up and pushed the offending object away from his face.

He opened his eyes sleepily and watched in rising irritation as his little sister, giggling uncontrollably at the foot of his bed, holding his pillow which she had used to smother her older brother. The itchy feeling must have been her tickling his cheek, a habit of hers which he hated with a vengeance.

"Neela! What the heck did you do that for?"

More giggles followed. "We're late, Jax. Hurry up and get dressed." And with that, she leaped off his bed agilely and headed for the bedroom door, the pillow still in her hands.

"Oh joy…" Jax thought to himself. He raised both his arms above his head and began to yawn, his left cheek red from his own slap.

A pillow flew into the midst and smacked him right on the face. The sight of him, with his arms raised and a pillow draped over his head was just too much, a burst of giggles erupted from Neela and she quickly dashed out the door.

"I am so gonna kill her one day" Jax mumbled into the pillow.

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Twenty minutes later, Jax was out of his home, dressed in his Velociprey armor. He followed Neela through the small village of Pokke. A decent enough place, but quite lacking in any good tourist spots. But nowadays, more and more people are coming to this part of the world, attracted by the great abundance of machalite ores available in the nearby mountains.

Glancing at Neela walking in front of him, he can't help noticing that his little sister have grown much over the years, she seemed to be round at all the right places, and as nimble as a Kelbi. At age 20, she has already attained her full adult height, but she still barely comes up to his shoulder. Not surprising considering he himself is a good six feet in height.

Neela herself is dressed in her favorite Giaprey armor. Often were the times he tried to argue with her in donning Velociprey armor, but she always argued back that she looks better in snow blue color.

Jax snorted to himself. Trust women to choose fashion over common sense.

Walking towards a house, Jax pounded on the door and was soon greeted by a familiar face belonging to one of their team mates who went by the name of Gronicus. A weird name, thus Neela has comed to call him Gron. Taller than Neela by half a head but shorter than Jax himself, Gron distinguished himself in the team by his mountain of rippling muscles, muscles that makes Jax look slender in comparison.

Hefting a huge hammer he inherited from his late father, it was made up of one complete Kut Ku jaw which he was able to wield with just one hand. Shouldering his massive hammer, Gron grinned mischievously at Jax and stepped out of his home to follow Jax down the street.

"So what's new?" Gron asked. Though not stupid in any way, Gron dislike giving orders or having to think on any situation strategically. Thus he submitted good naturedly to Jax's leadership without much problem.

"Not sure, but Elder requested we meet up with her at noon today. Sure hope it's not just another Giaprey hunting trip again." Jax sighed, Neela groaned and Gron grimaced at the thought.

It was the end of the Fall Season, winter would be setting in soon and that normally meant that the cold tolerant reptiles will be out looking for food, which meant trouble for the occasional traveler or the herds of Popos that the villagers in Pokke village relied on for manpower and transportation.

For the last few months, Jax and his team had been hunting for nothing but Giapreys and it had become little more than just routine, making him wish he really did meet up with something like a Rathian.

Jax sighed. Not that there was any chances for that. Nobody has seen a single Wyvern for several years and if it weren't for Gron's Kut Ku Hammer, he would have wondered whether wyverns were a myth that parents tell their children in order to scare them into obedience.

"Jax, if you don't get down from that dinner table this instant, you're going to be spending the night in the belly of a Diablos," Jax recalled his father saying to him once with a smile.

Gron smacked him on the shoulders, "Dude, you day dreaming or something?"

"Sorry," mumbled Jax, scratching the back of his head, "Guess we'll find out when we meet up with the Elder later. Let's get some early lunch before we do that, alright?"

"Sure."

Grinning from ear to ear, Neela sprints off ahead of them to the nearest tavern. Her love of eating was legendary in Pokke Village. And amazingly, she never seemed to gain any weight at all. Gron smiled as he watched Neela dashing away.

"You have to admit, you really have to wonder where all the food she eats goes to." Both of them chuckled at that thought as the two of them stepped into the table and joined Neela at the table she chose.

Before they were even comfortably settled in their seats, Neela was already ordering the latest menu in huge amounts. Jax groaned. Once again, Neela was eating her way through his money pouch. Gron patted him on his shoulder sympathetically.

As they were settling down to enjoy their lunch which arrive in huge steaming platters, Neela suddenly glanced up and gasped. Surprised at her reaction, both Gron and Jax whirled around to see what had caused her reaction.

A man had just entered the tavern. This was nothing new in any way, but what caught the attention of everyone in the tavern was that this man was tall. Even Nemesis, the tallest man in the village who stood a good six and a half feet tall, would probably just come up slightly lower to this man's shoulders.

Ducking under the door jam, the man walked into the bar. Jax whistled through his teeth at the sight of the great sword hanging behind the man. It was an amazing looking blade; the razor sharp edge was like tempered steel while the body of it was a dark reddish color, looking like scales covering it with pulsing red veins, ending in vicious ivory fangs at the other side of the sword.

His armor was also curious. The plate mail looked very much like the scaly hide of some huge reptilian head, most probably some ill-fated wyvern that happen to cross this man's path in life. Set with dark red scales, it was a daunting piece of armor, with several small, sharp spikes jutting out of the shoulder and knee cover plates, completing its vicious looking nature. Jax caught himself thinking he had best not get into the bad side of this imposing figure.

From examining the equipment, Jax took to studying the man. He was not old by any standards, but neither was he young. Jax guessed that this man was probably in his mid thirties. Handsome in a cold kind of way, Jax felt uneasy at the way the man hovered his sight over everyone in the tavern while standing by the doorway.

He wore his hair long, reaching down almost to his waist, with long hair beside his ears pulled to the back and tied in a pony tail. The front is shorter and seemed to stick backwards in a spiky wave-like kind of look.

The man looked over at Jax, stopped briefly and then hovered over to stare at Neela. Neela felt a wave of uneasiness hit her with the look, and she couldn't keep herself from trembling a little, causing her to drop her spoon with a clank onto the platters.

Gron was looking at the man's armor with his mouth gaping impolitely. Self consciously, Gron looked at his own armor, made from the hides and scales of a Plesioth. Also inherited from his late father, Gron had always been proud of his armor. But when compared to the man's armor, Gron couldn't help feeling small and petty.

Giving Neela a slightly longer stare than on the others, the man turned away as if totally uninterested and went over to sit on a table not quite far from their table, though he had his back turned on them when he sat. So long were his legs that when sitting, it seemed as though the man was crouching instead.

Before Jax could comment on this, the door of the tavern slammed open and in came Black Jack, looking as though he was in a tremendous hurry.

"Emergency conclave called for, all hunters to report to the Guild Hall on the double!!" He shouted and turned to leave, but a hunter near the doorway grabbed his arm.

"What happened?"

Gasping slightly for breath, he replied, "A traveling caravan was attacked in the desert last night, only one made it back."

There were gasps and murmurings all over the tavern at once.

"By what?" questioned the hunter.

"I'm not sure about the details, but I think it was a land shark." With that, he broke loose and dashed out the door to the next nearest tavern

Everyone started getting up and headed for the door. Brief chaos erupted.

"Land Shark?" Neela looked at Jax as she started to stand up.

Jax didn't waste time talking. He stood up and headed for the door, holding it open and letting Gron and Neela pass by him on the way out. Looking over at the imposing man, he saw that he just sat there, unconcerned. Jax only replied one word to Neela as he stepped out into the open with them.

"Cephalos."

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End of Chapter 2

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Author notes, another big thank you to Legend Striker of who helped in editing my grammar and all for this chapter. Thanz Buddy..


	3. Chapter 3

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**Chapter 3**

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The Guild hall was packed with people. The Elder, an elderly woman with a big hat that swept almost to the ground, was standing on one of the patron tables, leaning on her cane.

Looking around grimly, she tapped her cane on the table and silence immediately reigned in the Guild Hall. All eyes turned to her, waiting to hear the grim news.

The Elder was silent for a while, as if wondering how to put this news out, though she was well aware that Blackjack would have certainly blurted out to anyone what this conclave was about.

"Last night," spoke the Elder in a raspy voice, going straight to the point, "a traveling caravan going through the desert was attacked by a creature."

Murmurs rippled through the crowd.

"Based on the description from the surviving caravan driver, I believe the creature is a Cephalos."

"Cephalos?" answered one man incredulously near the rear end of the crowd, "No one has seen one for the past few years, if it even existed."

"Oh it exists, and so do the other wyverns we have heard so much through the tales of our ancestors." The Elder spoke with calm, shaking her head slowly in sadness. "And it appears that we will be seeing more of them in the near future."

"So what do we do about it?" someone piped out.

"I want all travels through the desert to be prohibited at present. Blackjack!" she called.

The willowy archer pushed his way through the crowd to get close to the Elder. Giving her a brief salute, he waited for further orders.

"Have your party ready in an hour's time. I want you and your men to travel to Kyoto village and relate the news to them and inform them that the desert will be off limits to all travelers except hunters until we have this creature taken cared of."

BlackJack paled a little. Going to Kyoto village meant him and his men had to run across the desert.

"Don't worry my friend, I wouldn't put you in any unnecessary risks. If you were to chance upon the creature, do not fight it and run for it, record down the location and have it sent to us with your pet hawks so we can take the appropriate actions."

Breathing easier, BlackJack saluted and pushed his way through the crowds again. Once outside, the crowd in the guild hall could clearly hear him running away and calling out names.

"How many teams do we have at present?" All eyes immediately turned back to the Elder.

A tall man at the right side of the hall raised his hand, though there was really no need, being tall as he was. His name was Nemesis. Walking forward, he planted himself solidly to the side of the Elder, the tip of his large shiny GunLance peeking up from behind him.

Before Jax could even say a word, Neela pulled him and Gron through the crowd and came up to the Elder. "Jax's team, reporting for duty." She smiled politely up at the Elder.

The Elder nodded.

"The other teams are out in the volcanic regions, hunting Ioprey that have been preventing our miners from getting coal safely. We don't expect them to be back for at least another fortnight." reported Nemesis.

The Elder sighed inwardly. What an inopportune time to be faced with this dilemma, she thought to herself.

"Nemesis, get your team ready. I will give you the coordinates of where the caravans were attacked. You are to try and hunt down and kill the creature."

Nemesis gave a nod and headed for the entrance.

"What about us, Elder? We can go hunt for the Cephalos too."

"Neela!" Jax hissed at her from the corner of her mouth.

Neela jabbed her elbow into his mid riff. "We can handle it." She whispered back at him.

The Elder was looking at them intently now, as if she was sizing them all up for the task. Looking as though she was about to shake her head in disagreement, a movement near the Guild Hall door caught her attention.

Seeming to have received some form signal, the elder gave a small sigh that seemed to come from her shoes.

"Jax, how much time do you need to gather your gear?" queried the Elder instead.

Thinking the question over, Jax thought of the rations and supplies they would need to gather in preparation for the coming hunt since they were already armed and armored then. "Half an hour, Elder, that's all we need."

"Good, gather whatever supplies you need from Laura and head out to Zone 8 of the desert."

"Zone 8? Aren't we going with Nemesis on this one?" puzzled Gron. Clearly he felt strength in numbers a good advantage against something they have never faced before.

"No, I would like you and your team mates to recon Zone 8 for possible Cephalos encounters. I am planning to relay messages to the other villages to use that route in future to avoid any such incidents with the creatures. Winter will be setting in soon and we will need a reliable and safe route for supplies to reach us from the other villages."

Neela's face drooped. She was hoping for a chance to use her abilities on a real hunt. Just as Jax and Gron felt, hunting Giapreys and Velocipreys was wearing her patience thin.

Jax gave her a sympathetic pat on the back, knowing exactly what she was thinking. "Let's go."

Neela managed a brave smile for Jax and all three of them turned and headed out of the guild hall.

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**End of Chapter 3**

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Author Notes, go go go Legend Striker for editing this chapter for me.. :)


	4. Chapter 4

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**Chapter 4**

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It was tough getting to Zone 8 of the desert. The back-breaking jog took half the toll on both Jax and Neela. Gron however, don't even seem to be breathing hard. Not surprising considering his excellent physical condition. His physique however, does not help in keeping him cool. Sweat dribbled down his face in big drops due to the intense heat from the baking sands below their feet.

Uncorking one of the many cool drinks they had in their possession, Jax took a few gulps from it and handed it over to Neela. Along with the cool drinks, Laura, the local trader in Pokke village, had even provided them with plenty of rations, some signal flares in case they ran into more trouble than they had anticipated and healing potions among other things.

Being a bit tight on money due to stocking up foodstuffs for the coming winter, Jax was surprised when Laura had put in a lot more items into their knapsacks than they had money to pay for. Surprisingly, Laura had said that the Elder had given instructions to have Jax's team supplied with all the necessary items for their upcoming recon mission and that all additional cost will be handled by the Hunter's guild.

Five hours later, they were resting on the leeward side of a huge cliff jutting out of the sand like the ribcage of a huge monster. Squinting his eyes against the bright light reflecting off the sand dunes, Jax related as much knowledge onto his fellow hunters in detail that he had read up on the creature they were suppose to hunt.

"Try to aim for their legs. The objective is to knock it down on its side so we can get in some good blows onto its body and head without fear of it retaliating on us."

"How big can these things get?" Gron is also squinting against the light, trying to see ripples in the sand caused by the passage of the land sharks through the sand.

"The younger ones are roughly fifteen to eighteen feet in length. Those should be easy enough for us, I just hope we don't run into their big daddies, the Cephadrome. Those guys are almost twice again in length to the normal ones. Those are the ones we have to watch out for."

"Jax?" the odd note in Neela's voice caused Jax to momentarily stop scanning the horizon and glanced at her. "Do you think we will see that 'thing' again?"

Jax turned back to scanned the hot desert again, a frown on his face. He did not answer her. There was no need for him and Gron to ask her what 'thing' she was referring to.

Ever since they have been accepted into the Hunter's Guild and sent on hunting missions, they would always have this distinct impression that something is dogging their movements, something strange and menacing. There was a few times where they caught sight of a figure far out in some distant tree top, or a distant mountain top. It could have been an animal, it could have been anything, it might not even be interested in them in the least, but they all have the same feeling that the tiny figure of far was intently watching them.

"What do these land sharks look like?" asked Neela, deciding to change the subject and continued to scan the surrounding areas for signs of the creatures.

"From one of dad's stories, they are almost sand colored, though the Cephadrome is in a darker shade. As to what it looks like, we are about to find that out. Look there!" Jax pointed about two clicks to the west.

Squinting their eyes to look in the direction that Jax indicated, they could faintly see a fin cut through the sand. If they sprinted for it, they could probably reach that spot in less than six minutes.

Nodding his head when he caught sight of the ripple, Gron gripped his hammer handle from above his shoulder, as if to reassure himself of its presence.

"Let's go get it."

And off they sprinted, their weapons still in their respective holders and sheaths so as to not impede them on their sprint towards the target area.

Reaching the spot, they all stopped and peered around cautiously with their hands on the hilts and handles of their weapons. The ripple was gone. Silently and efficiently, the group formed a triangle with each pair of eyes looking outwards, trying to locate the ripple they have spied before.

Neela gripped her sword hilt hard, feeling a tension she have never felt fighting Giapreys and Velocipreys before. Her other hand gripped her sonic bombs carefully, remembering in her mind what Jax had told her about land sharks on their jog here.

Almost instantly, she saw a ripple out of the corner of her eye and immediately turned her head around to look at it. A ripple has just appeared and is heading towards Gron from his front left.

"Gron, get down!!" she shouted and cranked her arm back. Gron without any delay whatsoever, immediately ducked down into a half crouch as the sonic bomb Neela threw flew over his head and detonated in the path of the ripple.

There was a loud roar and a sand colored creature burst out of the sand and landed about 10 feet away from Gron. The creature was ugly in Neela's point of view, with a head looking like half a moon and rows of jagged teeth underneath it. Jax's information was pretty accurate; this one was at least eighteen feet in length.

Without wasting any more time, both Gron and Jax already had their weapons out and were assaulting the creature. Jax's Iron Katana 'Grace' seemed to be doing considerable damage as he sliced onto the neck while Gron proceeded to smash his massive hammer down on its legs.

The hammer connected and there was a sickening crunching sound as the creature's thigh bones cracked from the fearsome blow. Roaring in pain, the creature managed to leap onto its remaining good leg and its movement sent the surprised Gron flying backwards and landing with a puff.

Jax backtracked a few steps as he saw the creature leaped back to its feet, he saw the Cephalos locked its gaze on the still form of Neela, who strangely stood there staring off to her right, totally unaware that the Cephalos they were fighting has suddenly focused its attention on her.

Balancing itself on its good leg, the creature reared its head up. Jax knew what it intended to do.

After watching the creature crashed onto the sands, a sudden vibration in the sands under her feet stopped her from drawing her sword from her sheath. She was certain it wasn't caused by the crashing Cephalos. An uncomfortable thought crept into her mind.

_Could there be another Cephalos out here in Zone 8?_, she thought.

Confident that Gron and Jax could both make short work of the Cephalos without her aid, she peered around painfully, the bright light straining her eyes. Suddenly her eyes opened wide for she now spied another ripple through the sand, off to her right. This one was a bigger ripple. A much much bigger ripple.

She whirled her head around to shout a warning, but at the same time, something rammed her on her side, knocking her off her feet.

Gron got up just in time to watch Jax bowl Neela over, the spout of sand spitted out by the Cephalos originally aimed at Neela hitting Jax directly on the back. Even at this distance, he could see the sand rip through the layer of scales and metal and tear through the flesh above the left shoulder blade. The momentum of his forward movement, plus the force of the sand that hit him on his back, sent Jax's body, still hugging Neela protectively, to twist in mid air and land in the sand.

Gron shouted in anguish and started to run towards the Cephalos, intending to continue hitting on the injured leg so that he can distract it from his wounded friend. But before he could even get close enough, there was another explosive burst of sand right behind him and he found himself being flung a good fifteen feet into the air, causing him to fly above the wounded Cephalos and landing with a painful thud on the other side.

Neela was crying now. She felt a hand clutch her heart painfully as she watched Jax struggle painfully to get back on his feet. But all he did was managed to get into a half kneel, his right hand gripping the arm of his left. Neela could see clearly from her standing position where the sand had ripped away both armor and flesh, leaving the exposed shoulder blades to show out in stark contrast to the dark red blood flowing from the wound.

"Jax! I'm so sorry!!" she cried with tears rolling down her cheeks.

But Jax couldn't answer her. He gritted his teeth in pain and clutched his limp left arm with his right. He could literally feel and hear his shoulder blade crunch when he tried to stand up.

A roar resounded and Jax painfully forced his reddened eyes to opened and try and determine what to do next. All he saw was Gron flying head over heels over the Cephalos and landing with another puff of sand to the right. Spinning his head left to see what had send his friend flying through the air like that, his eyes widened in shock.

The new creature that stood to the left was not the big daddies of Cephalos as he had feared. It was something far worse. The massive monstrosity clearly dwarfed the petty Cephalos standing in front of it.

It had one huge and wickedly sharp horn jutting out from the front of its nostril and a mane of hardened bone shaped into the very likeness of a massive shield. The grayish body itself looked to be more like armor plated bones than skin. It flapped its huge wings once and roared another time, and then charged at the vulnerable Cephalos.

The Cephalos knew its danger and attempted to make a leap for cover into the comforting sand. But its injured knee hampered its movement. Moving with remarkable speed, the new monster rammed its massive horn straight through the hide of the Cephalos and lifted its trashing body clear off the ground and shook it viciously.

Gron, stunned by his un-expected fling through the air, could only looked up in horror and flung his arm across his face as a rain of blood from the mortally wounded Cephalos fell all about him.

Making a powerful whirl of its massive body, it flung the impaled creature on its horn to fly and land with a massive thud where it lay still, obviously dead. Its movement put its eye sight on the wounded Jax and Neela who stood beside him.

_Oh my God__! That's a god damned Monoblos!_, Jax's mind screamed at him.

Giving another ear splitting roar, the Monoblos lowered its armored head and prepared to charge at them.

"Neela! RUN!" Jax shouted at about the same time when the Monoblos roared.

Gron struggled desperately to move, but his landing has caused his feet to sink into the desert sand almost up to his upper shins. He desperately tried to pull his leg out and cursing at the Monoblos for ignoring him at the same time.

"No! I'm not leaving you behind!" screamed Neela, attempting to pull Jax to his feet.

Jax watched as the Monoblos puts its left foot behind him, preparing to propel its massive two metric ton body in his direction. Without wasting time, ignoring the searing pain of his shattered shoulder blade, he used his right arm and pulled Neela's body over his right shoulder and with a strength born from desperation, heave with all the muscles of his long legs and send Neela flying a good twenty feet away from him.

Dropping back down on his knees, his right hand once again gripping his left arm. He gritted his teeth against the pain that almost made him pass out, he glanced to his right and watched as the Monoblos lumbered towards him with increasing speed.

As if watching a scene in a dream, he watched the Monoblos charged him in an almost slow like motion when suddenly, a figure stood in front of him. It was not Gron, who was finally free from the sand and is charging after the raging monster, roaring his battle cry. Neither was it Neela, who lies far away from him, having the breath knocked out of her when she landed in the sand after being un-expectedly thrown away.

It was a tall man who stood between him and the raging Monoblos. It was a man with a reddish armor on, carrying a massive vicious looking Greatsword. As if without fear nor worry, the man readied his massive sword onto his shoulder and suddenly Jax felt some kind of energy being charged into the tall figure who stood before him. Even the sword seemed to suddenly glow angrily red.

With perfect precision, the man roared and brought his sword down in a devastating overhead swing, landing a powerful blow right as the tip of its lethal horns is about to gore him. The swing cracked the horn in half and sent the head of the Monoblos slamming downwards into the sand, effectively stopping its running charge and sending a spray of sand to fly in all directions in a wide radius.

Heaving its head out of the sand sputtering, it has barely cleared its ringing head when it suddenly felt a sharp object slashed across its face, notching its bony mane, obliterating its right eye into a bloody pulp and severing its already cracked horn at its base.

Jax watched in disbelief, his pain totally forgotten in his surprised as the man stopped the Monoblos' charge. While the monster still appeared stunned, the man made a whirlwind slash and cut a bleeding horizontal slash across the face of the Monoblos, taking out its right eye in the process and sending a piece of the massive horn to fly and land not far away from the stunned Neela.

With blood pumping out of the bleeding mass that used to be its eye, the Monoblos made a desperate swing with its knobby tail at the man. Bracing his sword with both his hands, the man blocked the tail swing without even flinching. Both hardened tail and sword made contact, and the desert was filled with the ringing sound of its impact. Even Gron, standing a few feet behind the Monoblos flinched when the sound reverberated across the desert.

Without seeming to pause in his attacks, the man suddenly slipped under the tail, sheathed his sword behind his back smoothly and made a dash towards the right leg of the monster. Bracing his shoulder, the man butted his shoulder into the monster's right thigh, his spiky shoulder armor plates digging in painfully into the massive muscles.

Balance thrown, the Monoblos was literally butted off its feet by the man and landed into a heap where Gron made a desperate roll to the back in an effort to prevent getting himself crushed by the falling Monoblos.

_That's a two metric ton monster the man just knocked the feet off,_ Jax thought to himself in a daze, wondering at the same time whether he is dreaming or not.

Brandishing his sword again, the man stood calmly and braced himself. But the Monster has had enough, painfully getting back on its feet, the massive creature dipped its head and burrowed into the ground right before Jax's astonished eyes and in a matter of seconds, even the tremor of the creatures passage under the sand soon fades away.

Sheathing his sword again, the man turned and faced Jax. Recognizing the man at last, he gasped in pain. And with his recognition, the pain of his injuries flooded him in a huge wave as he passed out.

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**End of Chapter 4**

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Author notes, Legend Striker does it again with my fourth chapter..


	5. Chapter 5

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Chapter 5

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Jax looked down at his hands, and realized that the hands he was looking at does not belong to him. The hands he was looking at is short, plump and pudgy looking. He is also holding a baby rattle on his left hand and shaking it vigorously.

Then he felt himself being lifted up by his armpits and he found himself face to face with an old man. He was smiling widely and using his iron gray mustache to tickle Jax on the abdomen. Jax squealed in joy and smack his rattle against the side of the old mans head.

"Ho ho, you have such a strong arm for a two year old." the old man chuckled. And with that, the man shifted his hold on Jax and held him securely by the crook of his arm.

Jax squealed again.

_ 'Whats going on?'_ Jax wondered.

The man holding him, though old, is still hale and hearty, with muscled arms and a jolly face. His hair is the same iron gray as his long bushy mustache. Though jolly looking, there was a sense of power about the old man.

"Grandpa!" Jax squealed in a high pitch baby voice and hugged the face of the old man tightly. The old man chuckled to himself and gently detached baby Jax's hands from his face.

"He's a clever one, speaking his first words at the age of two." said a feminine voice to his right. Turning to face the voice, he beheld the pretty face of a woman, probably in her late twenties. Smiling sweetly and in pride, the woman began to rub a soft handkerchief over Jax's face.

"MAMA!" Jax squealed again, as if trying to show off his speaking skills to them.

_Mama??!! _Jax thought in panic.

The woman was laughing along with the old man at this when the loud sound of bells began to ring throughout the small village.

"What in blazes…?" began the old man. Quickly handing baby Jax to the woman, the old man headed for the closest window and peered out, trying to figure what is going on. The ring of the bells ended all of a sudden as a split second later, a house about two blocks away from theirs suddenly burst into flames.

The old man gasped and suddenly jerked his head away from the window as an arrow thudded onto the window sill, shivering from its force of impact.

"Narla, get below the kitchen table. I think the village is under attack!" snarled the old man and he quickly shifted a massive oak table in the living room and barricaded it against the front door and window.

Baby Jax began to cry loudly now, as the woman quickly rushed into the kitchen and ducked under the huge table with him in her arms. The kitchen was huge, big enough to have fifteen people dining inside at the same time. Thankfully, the kitchen did not have any rear doors nor windows so any attacks coming from anywhere else other than the kitchen door was impossible.

In just a few minutes, fierce sounds of combat began to emanate from the living room and not long, the old man slowly backed up into the kitchen through the door, a gigantic heavy bowgun in his hands. Lips set into a thin line of determination, a determination to protect the woman and her child hiding in the kitchen, the old man pulled the trigger and fired several rapid rounds of bullets through the doorway. Instantly, there was a boom and the suspicious sound of splattering meat parts.

Grabbing the door and slamming it shut, the old man backed up several more steps and begun to reload his weapon, and looked at the woman hiding under the table. Reassured that the woman and baby was safe at the moment, the old man grimly braced his weapon and aimed it at the door again, confident that nothing was going to get through that door without getting pass him.

Then the sharp smell of smoke began to permeate the room. The old man's face grew grimmer as he realized the damn creatures were burning down their house as well.

"Evan!" shouted the woman.

"Stay down, Narla. I know they're burning the house. We have to hold them off till help arrives." The old man snarled.

"What if they don't make it in time?" the woman began to cough from the rapidly thinning air.

The old man did not answer, keeping his face grimly faced towards the door. Then the sound of chopping resounded above them.

"Oh dear god, they're breaking their way through from above!"

There was a loud splintering crash and heavy wooden planks began to fall all about them from the smashed ceiling as several figures dropped in from above. Almost instantly, a battle began to rage.

Roaring in anger, the old man butted the handle of his weapon onto the face of one of the figures just as it landed, splinters of smashed teeth flying away from the blow. Before the body had even hit the ground, the old man leaped after the falling body and stomped down on its neck with an audible crack.

Then he stabbed his weapon into another of the creatures, causing blood to spurt when the sharp edges of his weapons barrel penetrated the scaly skin of the aggressors. Muscles bulging from the strain, the old man hefted his weapon, the creature still impaled in front and flung the body at another of the scaly creatures.

A sword swing sliced across his back, opening a deep gash and causing him to stumble forward a few steps. Without turning around, the old man hefted his weapon onto his shoulder, its barrel pointed towards the back and he pulled the trigger. Another explosion and soggy sound of splattering meat quickly followed.

A creature in front swung his arm back, intending to swing his lethal blade and sweep the old man's head from his shoulders, but it did not get the chance. Without pause, the old man swung his weapon over his head from his shoulder and brought it down onto the creature's pointy head. Bone collapsed and brain matter splattered in every direction.

Flaming cinders of wood began to rain down, sparking small fires all around the kitchen, making it increasingly harder to breathe. The creatures, as if unaffected neither by the smoky air nor by the intense heat of the raging fires, continued to battle the weakening old man.

Clearly winning the battle, one of the creatures turned around and focused on the kitchen table. Flinging it off to the side, the creature stared with narrow eyes at the cowering woman holding the baby.

"_Kunari hak naruso kra!_" it hissed.

The terrified woman didn't know what it said and quickly bolted for the kitchen door. The living room was probably an inferno by now, but she had to try and make a run for it. She almost made it when a blade thrown with accuracy thudded into the small of her back, sticking solidly into her back bone.

Without any chance to even scream in pain, she stumbled and dropped onto the floor, blood dripping down the corner of her mouth. Weakly she huddled baby Jax close to her body. Even dying, she sought to protect her only child.

Behind her, the battle with the old man was drawing to a rapid ending. His weapons splintered and rendered useless by all the melee attacks that he has been using it for, the old man is having great difficulty in breathing and having trouble focusing his sight in the smoky air. Two blades slid through his muscular back simultaneously and he dropped down onto his knees.

Spitting out blood, he turned his head and saw Narla lying face down on the floor, a curved blade sticking out of her back.

His vision rapidly fading with his pain, he stretched out a hand towards Narla as if he wanted to reach for her. Another blade slid through him, and he saw no more.

One of the creatures pulled it's sword from the dead woman's back and roughly shoved her onto her back. In her arms, the baby still clutching pathetically to her mothers neck, crying and wailing all the while.

Baby Jax watched through teary eyes as the creature reached out its hand to grab at him. But it didn't get the chance. For suddenly a new figure had stepped into the scene and the next thing he knew, the hand of the creature flew off in a bloody splash and the creature reared back in pain, dropping its sword and clutching at the stump of its bleeding severed hand.

Shocked, baby Jax wailed louder as the sounds of battle picked up around him again. There were clashes of sword against sword, grunts and hisses of pain surrounded him. And in a matter of minutes, all the sounds suddenly ceased except for the roaring of the raging fires.

A figure walked over and stooped over baby Jax. It was another of those creatures, but this one looking slightly lighter in color and taller, with a purple gemstone dangling from its neck. The creature reached out its bloodied hands for him.

"GRANPA! MAMA!" Jax screamed.

"Jax! Wake UP!"

Gentle hands grabbed hold of him and shook him. Jax sputtered awake and almost instantly reach out and gripped his left arm in pain. His own battle came back to his memory in a rush, the Cephalos, the Monoblos, the man in red armor.

'_THE MAN_!' thought Jax, his eyes widening in remembrance.

Gritting his teeth in pain, he raised his head and saw both Gron and Neela watching him in concern. Helping him to sit up slowly, they gently moved him to sit with his back leaning against the cave wall.

"I'm alright." He answered through clenched teeth.

"I said I'm alright!" he snarled when he saw both Gron and Neela still looking at him in concern. Gron frowned and Neela's face crumpled in hurt.

"I'll go get you something to drink." Neela quickly dashed out of the cave in a hurry. But not so fast enough that Jax couldn't noticed the tears pooling in her eyes.

He sighed. Gron was looking at Jax with an angry eye now.

"What's the matter with you, Jax? Do you know what she has been through the past few hours while you were passed out?" Gron scolded Jax softly.

Jax didn't answer. He shamefacedly stared down at his legs while he self consciously rubs his sore left arm.

"My arm!" Jax's head snapped up as he remembered his injuries. Looking over at his left shoulder, he noticed that it was bandaged heavily up to his elbows. He quickly looked at his hand and experimentally twitched his fingers. His fingers moved and he breathed a sigh of relief.

But something wasn't right, the injuries was pretty severe the last he remembered. He should be out cold for a few days at least from the pain, if not dead. He looked at Gron questioningly.

"You should thank the big guy over there," Gron jerked his thumb to his rear. Jax looked over Gron's shoulder and saw the imposing man sitting crosslegged across the burning camp fire, arms across his broad chest with his eyes closed.

"What happened?" Jax asked quietly.

Looking out the cave entrance, he saw that they were back in the cave which they had left all their supplies in before they headed out searching for the land shark. It was now night, he must have been out cold for at least seven hours from the looks of it.

"You do remember 'him' driving off the Monoblos, don't you?"

Jax nodded.

"Never in my life would I ever think that I would see a man stand up against something like that and leave off without a scratch on him." Gron answered with an incredulous shake of his head.

"Anyway, right after the Monoblos fled for its life, the man just picked you up like a sack of potatoes and brought you back to our cave, like he knew we were planning to camp here till we find the Cephalos."

"He used some kind of potion on you, greenish gold in color and poured it over your shoulder and I swear to you, your flesh seemed to regenerate before our eyes and your wound closed partially."

Jax listened quietly and when Gron stopped speaking, he tried gingerly to lift his left arm. His shoulder blade still felt like it is in a million pieces, the pain however was not as severe as he last remembered.

There was a sound near the entrance and both Gron and Jax turned to look. Neela was just stepping through with a small metal bottle filled with water in her hands.

"Hey!"

All of them startled, they all stared at the imposing man. Picking something out from his own knapsack, the man flung an object at Neela and she slopped the water all over her hands while freeing her right hand to catch the object.

It was another bottle of potion, greenish gold in color and over half full.

"Have him drink all of that down. We will start moving back to Pokke Village at sunrise."

"I'm in charge of my team here." Jax suddenly spoke out, annoyed with the man for giving orders to his team mates.

"Oh really, and where did your leadership nearly ended you this afternoon?" challenged the man. Jax flushed an ugly red and opened his mouth to shoot back a retort at the man.

"It's not his fault." Neela piped out in a soft voice, staring down at her boots. Jax clamped shut his mouth, watching in silence. Neela's grip on the water bottle tightened unconsciously.

'_She's blaming herself for the incident_,' thought Jax, remembering Gron's words and feeling sorry he snapped at her earlier all of a sudden.

"Whoever's fault it is," continued the man mildly, "We have to get all of you back to the Elder and report. Or do you intend to pick up your slim pig sticker and go after the Monoblos?" This he shot at Jax with narrowed eyes.

"I don't see how what ever I planned to do with my team mates have got anything to do with strangers." Jax retorted back.

There was a brief moment of silence as the tension in the small cave seemed to build up. The man then suddenly stood up, walked over to Jax, grabbed him roughly by his collar and lifted him clean off the ground, his legs dangling off the ground by a good two feet plus.

Jax gasped in pain as he was lifted off the ground. Neela could only watch in stunned silence. Only Gron came to the aid of his friend.

Grasping the man's hand, he tried to pry the fingers off the collar of his friend. Without any indication whatsoever, the man's other hand shot up and grabbed Gron by his neck and effortlessly lifted him off his feet too.

Dangling both young men in the air, one by the collar, one by the neck, the man coolly watched as one gasped in pain, while the other tried to gasp for air. Just when Gron thought he was going to pass out from lack of air, the man released him and he dropped down onto his knees, gasping in huge gulps.

Bringing Jax closer to his face, the man stared intently into his eyes.

"With me around, you will not be allowed to ask how or why unless I gave you permission to ask. When I tell you to do something, you will do it without fail. When I asked you to jump into the gaping maw of an Akantor with nothing but a dagger, you WILL leaped in without hesitation. Is that clear?"

Jax stubbornly clamps his mouth shut, not intending in any way to give in to this man, whom he had come to actively hate.

Narrowing his eyes, the man shook him sharply, prompting a gasp of pain to burst forth from Jax's lips.

"IS THAT CLEAR?"

A few more shakes issued forth and dizzied by the pain and the shaking, Jax realized he had no other options available to him against this hateful man.

"Yes Sir." gasped Jax.

"Good, see that you remember it all the way back" The man surprisingly set Jax back down onto the floor gently and leaned his body against the cave wall. Finally catching his breath, Gron backed off and leaned against the wall himself, rubbing his bruised neck and looking at the tall man with both a mixture of awe and fear on his face.

Walking passed Neela on the way back to his sitting spot, the man paused. "Have him drink all that potion up." He ordered.

Neela could only nod her head dumbly.

Jax perked up. Without really knowing how, he just seemed to notice that though the man ordered Neela to do something, he seemed to order it in a much gentler voice.

Sitting down again cross legged, the man crossed his arms across his impressive chest and closed his eyes again.

Walking over to Jax, Neela knelt down and popped open the cork on the potion bottle. A bitter smell tickled Jax's nose. Resting his right hand over the arm of his sister, Jax looked at Neela straight in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Neela."

Neela smiled as if she understood it all and didn't mind the least. Moving to have Jax drink from the potion bottle, Jax surprised her when his right hand stopped her.

"Who are you?" Jax asked through gritted teeth, for his wounds seemed to have reopened in the brief showdown with the man. "And why do you bother with us?"

Without opening his eyes, the man was silent for a while. "You may call me Tylor. As to you, I once promised a man that I will look after you no matter the situation."

"Promised a man? Who?" Jax eyes narrowed.

"A man who taught me everything. He was my sensei." Tylor opened his eyes then and glance at Jax through the corners of his eyes, making him look particularly menacing in the orange glow of the burning camp fire.

The words he spoke next sent Jax head spinning in shock. "His name was Evan."

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End of Chapter 5

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	6. Chapter 6

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Chapter 6

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The Elder was standing next to the Sacred Mount, a huge chunk of Machalite ore upon which the village of Pokke was founded on. Staring out and watching the sun rise, the elder felt an uneasiness that has been bothering her ever since the report of the cephalos attack came to her via the surviving caravan.

Unknown to most everyone, the elder was one of the very few people left in this part of the world to have remembered the carnage and desolation brought about by the fearsome wyverns. Having fought in quite a number of those battles, the elder bowed her head with closed eyes as she remembered the people who lost their lives then, remembering the loved ones she herself had lost.

As far as she was concerned, those battles were fought to a stalemate, having repelled the evil ones while dozens of villages were totally wiped off the map. Not all wyverns are evil of course, most attacking only when their territory was intruded upon. But so great was the fear and hatred from the populace that huge armies were gathered and sent to destroy any that were in the local vicinity.

Then came the time of peace where everybody firmly believed that all wyverns have been exterminated. None was seen for decades. But the elder sense the untruth of those words. She had secretly believed that the wyverns were not exterminated, they had all simply gone down to hiding, healing their wounds and breeding their young in secret.

And it seems that they have finally come out of hiding to once again roam the surface of this planet. She was still contemplating on this matter when a female messenger arrived with a hawk clutching firmly to her shoulder.

"Excuse me, Elder, but I have received a missive from Blackjack and Nemesis both that requires your attention." Bowing solemnly, she held the small messages in her hands out towards the Elder.

Grimly, the elder woman took and unrolled the small messages. First reading one message, then the other, her face grew grimmer still. The messenger waited politely for further orders.

"Send for the hunters protecting the miners in the volcanic regions. Have them return to us with all speed. No delays, no excuses."

"Yes ma'am." The female messenger sprinted off.

The Elder turned back to watch the magnificent sun rise, knowing that many people in the coming weeks might not have the chance to watch it rise again.

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At the same time the Elder was watching the sunrise at Pokke Village, Neela and the rest was slowly crossing the scorching desert, traveling near rocky outcroppings that provided some cover from the burning rays of the sun.

Supporting Jax pain-filled trek through the desert by having his good arm around her shoulders, Neela felt her heart squeeze painfully each time a stumble caused Jax to grimace in pain. She couldn't understand her feelings.

True, it certainly seemed to everyone that there were no siblings in Pokke village that were as close to each other when compared to her and Jax. Sisterly love, most would jokingly say, but Neela wasn't certain of that.

But as the hours crawled slowly by, Jax began to recover miraculously and even walked without Neela's aid, though she was always near to reach out a loving hand whenever it seemed that Jax would stumble.

And as always, Gron walked steadfastly beside Jax, his concern for his dear friend apparent to Neela.

Having salvaged for materials from the dead cephalos and retrieved the huge broken horn from the injured Monoblos, Gron was quite eager to see what armors or weapons could be made from the materials.

And throughout the journey, Jax seemed to be constantly deep in thought, occasionally raising his head slightly to stare daggers at Tylor's broad back. He had been this way ever since last night when Tylor had told him about a man named Evan being his sensei.

Suddenly Tylor raised his hand, signaling the small band to stop. Curious, they all peered around him to see what had caught Tylor's attention.

Neela gasped. They all could see the far off tiny figure of a cephalos out in the desert, spitting sand at what appears to be a small band of travelers. Gron growled deep in his chest and Jax moved to grab his sword hilt.

"Gron, you're with me. Neela, stay here with Jax." And with that, Tylor sprinted off towards the cephalos. Gron, totally caught off guard, hurriedly sprinted after him, his hand on his weapon's handle sticking out from behind him.

Jax, gritting his teeth in annoyance, could only stand idly by watching as Gron and Tylor leaped into battle. But thinking it over for a while, he guessed he don't have much choice in the matter anyhow. Though his wounds had healed more or less throughout the journey back to Pokke village, going into battle now would probably reopen his shoulder wound. There was also the uncomfortable remembrance of having Tylor dangling him by his neck, thus he didn't dare disobey the tall man, though he wouldn't have admitted that to himself, much less to anyone else.

Tylor was amazingly swift for such a tall man. His superior long legs quickly ate at the distance between him and the cephalos. Gron was hard pressed to keep up with him and was a good three to four paces behind.

Up ahead, Tylor could see the cephalos continue attacking the small band. The band seems to be nimble enough to avoid getting hit at the moment but it would seem to be a matter of time before a blow connected, or a sand spit connected.

When the hunters were close to the battle scene, the cephalos caught sight of the approaching hunters. Quickly diverting its attention, it reared its ugly head and spat at Tylor.

Expecting this attack after seeing the creature rear its head, Tylor dug in his feet into the shifting sand and quickly rolled to his left. The sand blasted onto the desert sands, sending sprays of sand to fly in all directions. Rolling smoothly back onto his feet, Tylor dashed for the kill.

One of the travelers, having taken advantage of the situation while the cephalos's attention was diverted, sprang towards it and hit it with a soft thwack from his small travelling staff.

The surprised creature stared down at the small traveler near its foot. Opening its maw, it was about to mangle the traveler. Tylor, reaching the cephalos at last, swung his huge sword and neatly sliced off one of its side fins. Screeching in pain, the creature swiveled its head back to look at Tylor.

Gron, also finally reaching the scene, made a running leap into the air and brought down his massive hammer down onto its head, dead on target. The limp body quietly slumped down onto the shifting sands. Grinning, Gron realized he was actually having fun killing these things.

"Permission to carve the body, sir" Gron spoke to Tylor.

"No time for that." Tylor was looking off into the desert and Gron, following his sight, saw a number of ripples moving further off in the desert.

Turning his sight from the desert, Tylor looked at the band of travelers. It was a band of Melynx travelers, consisting of one male elder, two younger females and one male child. The Melynx elder was the one who snuck up and attacked the cephalos.

The Melynx seemed about to thank them for their aid, but Tylor cut him off. "Gron, let's get them out of here. You! Get on my back." this being said to the elder Melynx. It meekly nodded its head.

Crouching down to make it easier for them, the Melynx elder leaped onto Tylor's back, while the two females leaped onto Gron's. Holding securely to the Melynx child with his hands, Gron leaped to keep up with the tall man who was already racing back towards Jax and Neela.

Upon reaching them, the two hunters stopped for a breather. Gron went to Neela and held the Melynx child out to her. "You're going to have to hold the child for me, Neela. I need to free up my hands for my hammer just in case."

Neela nodded and took charge of the child. Shivering with fear from the attack, the small creature has red eyes from crying and huddle into a small ball in Neela's arms. Eyes softening in concern, Neela held on to it tenderly.

"Where were you headed?" Tylor asked the Melynx hanging onto his back.

"Nya! Our village has been destroyed in the desert, we have no real destination in mind. Nya!" purred the Melynx.

"Then that's settled, your group will come with us to Pokke village, I am sure they will have safe houses for you there."

"Nya! Thank you very much."

"Jax, we may have to make a run for it, Can you make it?" Tylor asked."We have to report this matter to the Elder as soon as we are able."

Struck speechless, Jax was caught off guard. This was the first time Tylor had asked something from him instead of ordering him about. He found he can only nod in acknowledgement.

"Good, then let's go." And off he sprinted. The others quickly followed.

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End of Chapter 6

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Author notes :- Grammar edited by Legendstriker.. :)


	7. Chapter 7

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Chapter 7

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The Elder was still beside the sacred rock, looking off into the distant snow mountains when the one of the perimeter guards came running to her, reporting that Jax's team has returned.

"Have them report to me at once."

He saluted and ran off. Fifteen minutes later, the small group came up to the Sacred Rock and met up with the Elder.

The Elder and Tylor gave each other a brief nod.

The Elder's eyes widened at the sight of the Melynx travelers however and quickly ordered for warm clothing to be brought up for them to wear. After getting dressed warmly for the cold climate here in Pokke Village, the Melnyx elder explained his situation to the assembled group.

"Our village has been destroyed." The Melynx elder said sadly. "We were attacked in the middle of night by a huge beast. If we read our histories right, I believed that the creature is a Black Diablos. We were fleeing and really didn't have any real destination in mind. Would it be alright if we stayed in your village?"

"You are more than welcomed to stay with us. Camphos!" the elder shouted for a veteran guard. "Show our guest to the safe houses and provide them with nourishments."

The Melynx child however refused to leave Neela and huddled close to her, purring in contentment. Both Neela and the guard looked at the Elder with uncertainty.

"Miki, come along now, don't go and bother the young folks from their duties." The Melynx elder called out to the child.

"Miki want stay. Nya!" the child purred stubbornly and huddled contently in Neela's arms.

The Elder nodded to the guard and he led the other Melynx group to the local safe houses.

"Now, Jax, Let's hear your report."

Tylor walked off to stand beside the Sacred Rock, totally uninterested in what was being reported, staring off into the same snowy mountains the elder herself have been staring at a few minutes back.

Jax left nothing out. He told about the attack on the cephalos, about himself being injured critically, about how Tylor had came and saved his team, everything. And as the elder listened on quietly, her eyes began to narrow furiously.

When he finished his report, Jax shamefacedly stared down at the ground.

"Jax, I specifically told you to recon Zone 8. I did not ever recall having told you to attack when you spot any. With you being the team leader and all, you were expected to set an example for your fellow team mates to follow." The elder said in a soft angry voice, stabbing her cane onto the snow covered ground.

Jax was silent. He knew he was in the wrong.

"I will not tolerate such behavior in the future. Is that clear, Jax?"

"Yes Ma'am" Jax answered quietly.

"And to see to it that you do not forget this careless attitude of yours, I am punishing you to kneel before the Sacred Rock until sunrise tomorrow."

"Yes ma'am." Jax replied.

Quietly, with his head hanging, Jax went and knelt before the Sacred Rock. When a hunter is accepted into the services of the hunter's guild, all members are required to stand before the Sacred Rock and swore upon it to remain true to the aims of the village as well as to uphold its name and honor. Any breach in the sworn oath, the offending individual would often be punished to kneel before the Rock and to look into oneself and analyze his own wrong doings.

Watching Jax walked off to kneel before the Sacred rock, the elder was surprised to see Gron and Neela walking after Jax and kneeling beside him. Jax appeared unaware of this however. Walking quietly and furiously to stand between them and the sacred rock, the elder glared first at Gron, then at Neela.

"And what in the name of the gods are the both of you doing? I am punishing Jax alone for his carelessness; I did not imply that the both of you are to kneel before the Sacred Rock as well." The elder stated.

"With all due respect, Elder, we are a team, we all went into the battle willingly. Whatever punishment that will be earned for this behavior, applies to the entire team." Gron replied calmly. Neela nodded.

The Elder smiled inwardly, but her face remained stony in appearance. They are shaping up into a fine team after all, she thought to herself. Turning without a word, she walked up to stand beside Tylor, making for an odd contrast. The small figure of the elder barely came up to the thigh of the tall man.

"The desert is no longer safe." Tylor spoke after a few minutes of silence. Jax and his team listened quietly in the background.

"I would presume so from all the reports that I have been able to gather." The elder replied. "Nemesis and his team just killed a Cephadrome in Zone 2 of the desert. And from Blackjack, everywhere they ran through, there are swarms of these cephalos roaming about."

"They have awakened."

The elder nodded, well aware that the three youngsters are listening to everything being said from the back. "And what of you? You are not from this town. Why are you here among us now?"

"I am here for my own reasons. But I am not here for ill will."

The elder nodded again, satisfied enough with his reply. A few minutes of silence ensued. It was then that Jax's father came up, bearing warm clothings for his son and friends, as well as some crockery containing food. Jax was never sure how his father seemed to know the latest happening in the village.

Walking up towards them, Jax's father glance briefly at Tylor's back. Gron put on the warm clothes and gave Jax's father a nod and a smile in gratitude. Sniffing hungrily, Neela opened the cooking crockery and groaned in misery.

"Chicken soup?!?! Awww , Dad!!" Neela complained. This prompted both Jax and Gron to grin in unison at Neela. Jax's father only grinned and ruffled her hair, making her pout her mouth.

Miki, the child Melynx, poke out its head and sniff at the soup hungrily. Pouring a portion out into a small bowl, Neela offered some to it.

"Wayne. Come over here." The elder called, never taking her eyes off the distant snowy mountains.

Jax's father quickly got to his feet, brushed the snow that stuck to his leggings and headed towards the elder. That's when he caught sight of Tylor's face by the side. Turning deathly pale in complexion, he quickly knelt down on one knee before Tylor, one arm held across his chest and bowed low.

"My… My Lord!" stammered Wayne. Jax, Gron and Neela stared in surprise.

Tylor didn't even turn to acknowledge his presence. Jax felt irritation rise within him again. Here is his father, the man he most idolized in the whole village, bowing before Tylor. And yet Tylor seemed ignorant of it all.

"There is no need for titles here my friend. When our village was destroyed, all of that matters no more." Tylor finally replied. But Wayne remained kneeling and bowed low.

"It's time to tell them everything, Wayne."

Wayne looked up then, his face filled with consternation. Staring at Tylor's back for a few silent minutes, he bowed his head again in sadness. Without any more words, Wayne silently turned back to face Jax and the others.

Looking into his father's eyes, he saw very clearly the sorrow and pain showing in the eyes. Wishing Tylor hadn't use such an ominous tone, he prepared himself mentally for whatever news his father has to impart to them.

Rubbing the rear of his head, Jax's father crouched down, looking very much as if he is trying figure out the best way to tell whatever it is that he is going to tell them. Jax decided to save his father the trouble.

"Was my grandfather's name Evan?" Jax asked softly. Neela and Gron both turned and stared at him in surprise.

That question startled Wayne. Looking first at Jax with wide eyes, he turned to stare at Tylor, who still stood there looking very much like a rock statue.

"He didn't say anything about that to me, dad." Jax spoke again and his father turned back to stare at him. "I had a dream after a battle we had in the desert yesterday."

Wayne nodded.

"Your grandfather was a great man in our village. Our village was Krator village, southwest of Pokke village and very close to the Great Western Sea. We originated from there."

"During the last Great Wyvern Wars, our people fought along with the other armies and even after the war ended, we remained one of the most powerful wyvern hunting teams in this part of the world."

"Many were the young people that flocked to your grandfather's house, seeking to learn the hunting skills that he has accumulated during his long life. But he didn't just accept anyone, out of hundreds, he probably accepted only one or two individuals to train. One of them is Lord Tylor." Wayne glance back briefly to look at Tylor, but the tall man's sight remained on the snowy mountains.

"Lord Tylor?" queried Jax.

"Lord Tylor belonged to one of the most powerful noble houses in Krator village. Suffice it to say, he himself is the most experienced and powerful hunter your grandfather ever had the honor to train. Very much unlike me." Wayne spoke sadly.

"You are wrong, Wayne." All eyes turned to stare at Tylor's back.

"Sensei Evan was never ashamed of you, Wayne. He once told me that everybody born in this world has a destiny about them, whether great or small, it affects us all in its own unique way."

Tylor turned to look at Wayne then, the feelings in his eyes impossible to identify.

"He also told me that you are Krator Village best weapon and armor smith. No one in the world has the skills to match what you can make into armors and weapons. He was proud of that from you alone."

Wayne looked startled at this revelation. But it seemed sadness won over his feelings again for he soon cradled his head on his hands. Jax saw tears sliding down his father's cheeks but pretended he didn't noticed. His father's grief is too personal for him to call anyone else's attention onto it.

"My skills? So what if I am the best smith? The armors and weapons I provided to all our warriors in the village did not save them from being butchered like wild dogs."

Tylor was silent for a while.

"Against such a vast number of the creatures, I don't think any village would have stood a chance in defending against them. Adding to that, they sneaked in the dead of the night, infiltrating the homes and killing the most skilled warriors in their sleep. By the time someone noticed the intrusion and sounded the alarm, it was already too late. No, my friend, it wasn't anyone's fault Krator Village burned to the ground."

"But I should have been there to fight with the others! I could have made a difference if I had been there!" Wayne shouted and leaped to his feet, clenching his hands before him and staring at them like they have just betrayed him and killed his own family. It was when he was trading in Pokke village when he heard the news reach him via messengers from the other villages.

Collapsing in shock after hearing the news, he found he lacked the will to move on with his life. His father, his child, his beloved wife Narla. He thought he had lost them all, till Tylor found him seventeen years ago, bearing Jax and Neela, both still an infant then. It was only at that time that Wayne found a new purpose in his life, to raise his son and carry on the legacy of Krator Village.

Tylor walked over to Wayne and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. "It wouldn't have made any difference even if you were there, my friend. I was there in the final hour of the village, and even then I very nearly died there myself."

But Wayne refused to be consoled by Tylor's words, He lowered his hands to his side, clenching them tightly. The tears flowed on.

"And Grandpa Evan died trying to protect me and mom." Jax quietly spoke again. His eyes began to tear as well.

"Your Grandfather believed a great destiny lies ahead of you, Jax." Tylor told him. "That was probably the main reason why he requested for me to look after and train you in the event that he is no longer around to provide it."

"I believed the same over you, Neela." Tylor suddenly spoke to Neela. Her eyes widened in surprise and just stared at Tylor.

"You mean, about having a great destiny before me?" she asked.

Tylor nodded. "Our people are born with mysterious powers, and I believed that you both sensed something in the battle between me and the Monoblos. Am I correct?"

Remembering Tylor shouldering his great sword and feeling some kind of energy being charge into his body, Jax and Neela both nodded. Only Gron knelt there in confusion, not really comprehending this 'thing' that Tylor is talking about.

"Do I have any such powers as well?" Neela asked Tylor confusingly.

"Of course, especially since you are part of the noble houses of Krator village, your power is probably the most important one." Tylor replied and the word 'noble houses' lingered mysteriously in the chill night air.

"Part of the noble houses….?" Neela stammered.

Tylor stared at her intently and she suddenly found it very hard to breathe, finally comprehending the meaning behind Tylor's words.

"You are my younger sister." Tylor confirmed her thoughts.

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Meanwhile, in the volcanic regions near Pokke Village.

"Charles, what are you waiting for, the other teams have already left for the journey back to Pokke village!" shouted a veteran hunter.

"Tell that to that old miner there." Charles grunted in annoyance, pointing at the far side of the cave where an old man was poking around rocks looking for ores.

They were all inside this huge central cavern, located near the center of the volcanic mountains. Lava flowed in wide rivers here and the heat generated was very intense. The hunters and miners had to constantly take sips from their cool drinks now and then to make sure that they down keel over from heat exhaustion.

Charles surveyed the cave one more time. His eyebrows crunching together, the hunter sensed something weird about this part of the cave. It felt empty, lifeless. No Ioprey, not even Magma Bats, which had amazing heat resistant capabilities and bred in places like this, were strangely absent.

"Watch the entrance for Iopreys, Gil. Me and the others will go and grab that old coot and drag him outta here." Charles smirked.

"Sure." Gil chuckled and positioned himself near one of the smaller cave entrances that leads out of the volcanoes.

Walking with two other hunters, Charles headed towards the old miner. The miner was poking around one particular rock wall, looking at the strange cracks that crawled all around it. It seemed to form a particular pattern but the old miner was too ignorant to give it much thought.

"Hey, Beavis, are you done yet? The Elder stated that we are not to delay our journey back." Charles called out to the miner.

"Just a few moments more. I think I may have found a good spot to strike in a hit or two with my pick. Might yield some rare ores you know." Beavis replied in a senile way.

"Well, hurry it up. This cave don't feel right."

"Alright then, here goes." Beavis heaved up his pick and swung down onto one of the cracks with a mighty blow despite his old bones. The pick stuck into the crack more than halfway through and dark reddish liquid spurted from the impact area. Suddenly the whole cave wall seemed to shift slightly causing everything inside to shake as if from an earthquake.

Bracing their legs firmly against the quake, the hunters readied their weapons and quickly scanned the area with their eyes.

"Earth quake?" queried one of the hunters shakily, holding a long bow in his hands with an arrow nocked.

Unnerved, Charles shook his head, indicating that he has no idea what that was. "Beavis, Lets go. NOW!"

Looking up from peering curiously at the dark reddish liquid, Beavis muttered "Oh alright." And with that, he gave a mighty heave to try and pull his pick lose. With a sharp metallic sounding crack, the pick broke, leaving behind a piece of itself imbedded inside the crack.

Almost instantly, a loud roar reverberated inside the cave, causing everyone in it to clamp their hands over their ears. The entire section of the cave wall, still with the tiny broken pick embedded in it, shifted away and rose, revealing a massive clawed leg.

Shocked by this, Charles was about to run and grab the stunned miner when he saw the massive foot lift itself into the air and stomp down on the helpless miner. The old miner shrieked in terror and pitifully raised his arms. Another earthquake-like shock vibrated throughout the cave.

There was a sickening crunching sound of crushed bones and blood spurted out from all around the massive foot.

Shocked, all three hunters could only stare in stunned disbelief. Charles tried to force his numb mind to comprehend what had just happened when the whole cave wall shifted again to reveal a massive head with two red beady eyes.

Staring down at them with a terrifying wave of anger, the beady eyes narrowed and the head opened its huge maw. Charles was totally unsure of what was going to happen next but he instinctively made a running leap to his left.

He wasn't fast enough. A beam of intense heat blasted out of the opened jaws and caught two of the hunters flat footed on the spot, instantly disintegrating them into dust. Trying to leap out of harms way, the beam only caught him up to his upper thigh of both legs. Screaming from the searing pain, he landed painfully on the ground clutching at his disintegrated legs and roared out again in pain. Gritting his teeth finally to stop screaming, Charles stared upwards from his prone position and saw Gil still standing near the cave entrance, watching everything happening in shock.

"GIL! RUN FOR IT! REPORT TO THE ELDER! RUNNN!" Charles roared at him. There was a rumbling noise from behind him and he looked back to see a huge dark form rumbling towards him clumsily.

Gil didn't stay to watch what happen next. Turning and running as fast as his heavy armored body would permit him to, he only heard the rumbling of the ground shaking and the scream that Charles was making. The scream ended with the sickening sound of meat being squashed.

The rumbling of the ground continued and Gil knew whatever the thing was back in the cave, it was now coming for him. Not daring to look back, Gil ran on.

There was the sound of something massive ramming into the smaller cave entrance and Gil instinctively felt that he was safe from it at the moment. Not bothering to ponder how accurate his instinct was in regard to this matter, he ran on.

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End of Chapter 7

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Please do vote up on what you think of my fanfic, Click on my Nick "Icowa", then click on the "Vote Now" button... thanz.

Author Notes :- Grammar edited by Legend Striker..


	8. Chapter 8

Author Notes :- Grammar edited by dethphnix (A.K.A Legend Striker)..

Also, Please do vote up on what you think of my fanfic, Click on my Nick "Icowa", then click on the "Vote Now" button... thanz.

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Chapter 8

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He no longer had any idea where he was, he just kept running and running. Behind him, he kept hearing someone screaming his death cry and the constant rumbling of rocks. His face was badly scratched from the numerous thorny bushes he had blundered through and there was more than one occasion where he banged fully into unseen tree trunks in the dark.

Always when he tumbled down onto his weary knees, he would hear the rumbling getting closer from behind and he would force himself back onto his feet running. He had screamed himself hoarse ages ago and all his energy was now reserved only in keeping his legs running.

Blindly keeping his hands outstretched in front of him to push away small branches that might be in his path, he found himself suddenly suspended in mid air. One minute his legs are skimming across the ground, and the next, they swung uselessly in empty air.

A ragged scream was torn from his throat as he plunged downwards in the dark and he braced his legs instinctively for a rough landing. He landed with a loud snap and a sharp pain immediately lanced through his legs, causing him to scream again. As he screamed, he heard the rumbling of rocks began again. Desperately, he tried to get back on his feet but he can no longer feel them after the fall.

Panic stricken, he tried to crawl away from the rumbling noise. He didn't make it very far when the bright light of torches suddenly surrounded him and faces appeared before his vision. Hands roughly grabbed at his arms and he fought desperately to break free.

"Let me go!!" He roared as he clawed at the hands that tried to hold him down.

"In the name of the gods! Gil! Calm down!" a voice shouted near his ear but the blood pounding inside his ear muted the voices.

"Noooooooooo! Charles! HELP ME!!" He screamed.

"JENNA! INJECT HIM! HURRY!" the same voice roared again.

He fought on and once or twice, he almost broke free. He heard a loud grunt of exasperation, and suddenly something big and hard slammed against the side of his cheek and his mind blacked out.

Grimly, with his bruised fist clenched at his side, Narok looked down at the semi conscious form of Gil. Gil's cheek began to slowly swell from the punch that he had received. Narok regretted his action almost immediately when he saw Jenna and the other hunters staring at him in shock.

"I don't have a choice, alright?" Narok hissed angrily at them.

Watching Gil start to stir and moan again, Narok quickly motioned for Jenna to do as she was ordered. Taking a small needle milkpod weed, Jenna quickly siphoned some sleep serum into it and poked the needle-like protrusion under Gil's skin. Squeezing the weed gently, the serum was pumped into Gil's blood system and in almost an instant, Gil's contorted face began to relax and he fell into an exhausted sleep.

All the hunters relaxed their grip on Gil and began to breathe easier. Only Jenna remained close and she frowned as she put her hand on Gil's forehead.

"Narok, he's burning up." She said in concern.

"I don't think that's the only thing we have to worry about. Look." One of the other hunters pointed.

Gil's right leg was bent at an unnatural angle and after removing the armored greaves, everyone could see that his leg had snapped at the shins and the jagged edges of the bone protruded disgustingly through the skin. One of the hunters immediately hurried to the edge of the circle of light created by their flaring torches and started to vomit.

Narok glanced up the thirty feet high cliff, thankful that Gil had broken just his leg and not his foolish neck. What happened back there in the volcanoes? And where were Charles and the others?

"Jenna, can you do… something about his broken leg?" Narok turned his attention back to the problem at hand and asked hesitantly.

"I can maneuver the bone back to its original position. But we need to bring him back to Pokke village as soon as we can to prevent it from getting infected or worse." She replied. Pulling a small potion from her pack, she slowly dripped some drops into Gil's open mouth.

"Alright then. Dack, you and Henry go make a battlefield litter to carry Gil. Try and not make too much noise while you're at it, alright?"

The two hunters nodded and headed off to their task.

"Tina, you and Jenna watch over Gil and see if you can get him to tell you what happen when he wakes up. I'm going to go and get the other teams plus the miners and meet up with you guys here so we can move off for Pokke tonight." Both ladies nodded and Tina stood guard watch as Jenna tried to get Gil to swallow some more of the potion.

"What about Charles and the others? Shouldn't we go and check whether they are alright?" Tina asked over her shoulder.

Gil began to moan softly and his fingers twitched reflexively, plucking at the soft grasses peeking their baby shoots out of the ground. It had only been a few hours at most since Narok had last seen Charles and his team, but it looked like Gil has been through hell and back in that short time. His face was gaunt with hollow cheeks and his eyes seem sunken into their eye sockets with dark smudges surrounding it. Even in the cool night air, Narok could see the perspiration that covered Gil's face. He didn't answer Tina.

"This is gonna be one hell of a night." thought Narok grimly as he sprinted off to fetch the others.

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"This is gonna be one hell of a morning." Thought Jax as he sat there watching both Tylor and Neela wolfing down huge platters of food at the tavern.

Most mornings, the tavern would be a pretty noisy place with travelers and locals drinking cool beer and sharing the latest gossip. Not this morning though. Everybody just sat there watching in disbelief as Tylor and Neela both began ordering a tremendous amount of food and started eating like the world was about to end in the next half hour.

Jax felt like he had spent half his life just watching the both of them eat. Even Gron could only sit quietly by, watching with his mouth agape. Any doubts Jax might have harbored last night that Neela and Tylor were brother and sister was instantly squashed in that fateful moment.

Watching both of them finally finishing the final platter of food on the table together, two loud belches of satisfaction burped forth. With cold sweat dripping down his forehead, Jax stared mutely at all platters stacked on their table.

"There goes a half years worth of my salary." Jax thought shakily to himself, visions of gold pieces with angel wings flying out of his money pouch filtering through his brain.

Both Tylor and Neela grinned sheepishly at each other and the both of them rubbed their bellies with satisfaction. Jax couldn't help feeling that Tylor seemed to be a different sort of person ever since he had told Neela that she was his sister in reality, that she and Jax was not related in any way.

The tavern patrons laughed at this and returned to their drinks, most shaking their head incredulously.

"Lord Tylor, can you tell us anything about the Great Wyvern Wars?" Jax's question instantly wiped the grin off Tylor's face.

"Tylor will be enough, Jax. As I have told your father, my lineage is no longer important." Tylor replied seriously. Jax nodded.

"What is it you wish to know more about, Jax?"

"What was the war all about? How? When? Everything." Jax looked at Tylor with bright inquisitive eyes.

"The war happened a long time ago, during the time of our forefathers. As to the cause of it, it was popularly believed that the Great Wyverns started moving onto our lands, killing and burning anything that stood in their path."

"And as with most histories, the great cities had enough, bandied their armies together and took the fight right up to their caves."

"And we won?"

Tylor didn't answer. And from the looks of it, Jax didn't think he will be getting any more history lessons from him. Well, at least not yet.

"Enough talk for now." Tylor planted his feet firmly and stood up. "All of you should get a good days rest for today. We have a big day tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? What do you mean?" Jax followed suit and started heading out the tavern with Neela and Gron.

"It's time for your training."

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It was only mid morning when Tylor followed Neela and Jax back to their home. From the forge that was build right at the side of their home, they could hear Jax's father hammering furiously inside, the hammer blows ringing eerily across the snowy landscape.

As soon as Gron had handed the hide of the cephalos and the monoblos horn to Wayne the previous night, Jax remembered a gleeful smile flickering across his fathers face. Jax began to wonder what was being made in the hot interior of the forge right at this moment. But Jax's father was very secretive with his work, very much like a fisherman guarding his favorite fishing spot from the eyes of others. He expected he'll find out when his father was done. Jax yawned tiredly.

Jax was about to step into his home when he noticed that Neela was still standing there talking softly with Tylor, the ever present form of Miki still clinging to her back. Watching Tylor smiling gently down at Neela and patting her on her head, he watched as Neela laughed heartily. Feeling a twinge of jealousy, Jax turned to walk into their house.

"Wait up Jax!" Neela called, running up to him with Miki bouncing lightly on her back. "Miki's going to stay with us, is that alright?"

Jax nodded wearily.

"What about Tylor?"

"Not sure, he said that he'll need to prepare something for our training." She shrugged and glanced back at Tylor's retreating form as he walked back towards the Sacred Rock.

"I hope he don't get us killed with whatever he has in mind." Jax mumbled, feeling extremely drowsy all of a sudden. Neela giggled at the look on his face.

"Alright you sleepy head. Sweet dreams." Neela giggled and bounded gracefully up the stairs to her room. Jax couldn't help noticing how deep her eyes had looked then and the way her hips moved when she sprinted up the stairs. Snorting at himself in disgust for the thoughts, he headed for his own room.

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The elder was still staring off into the distant mountains when Tylor finally reached the Sacred Rock. Walking up to stand beside her silently, Tylor waited.

"How much time do we have?"

"Enough at present. They bear no love for the cold weather here and I dare say they will wait till the winters passed before they will start moving again."

The elder nodded mutely.

"I wish to extend my gratitude for your part in watching over Sarah and Jax, Elder." Tylor spoke softly, changing the subject suddenly.

The elder shrugged unconcernedly. More and more villagers began moving about as time crept slowly by and Tylor's eyebrow rose questioningly at this.

"I am having the village fortified and guards posted to take shifts in keeping a look out." The elder spoke simply.

"I see." Moving his massive great sword into a more comfortable perch on his back, Tylor began checking his equipment supplies. "Will you be able to spare some men with some popos for stand by?" he asked.

Turning to watch Tylor examining some signal flares and tranquilizer bombs that he has in his pack, the elder guessed at what Tylor had in mind and nodded.

"Good." Tylor shouldered his supplies and headed off without a word.

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End of Chapter 8

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	9. Chapter 9

Author Notes :- Grammar edited by dethphnix (A.K.A Legend Striker)..

Also, Please do vote up on what you think of my fanfic, Click on my Nick "Icowa", then click on the "Vote Now" button... thanz.

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Chapter 9

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Jax stood in an open clearing, with plenty of tree stumps dotting it here and there. Looking around in confusion, he tried to rake through his brain where this place was.

There was a soft cough behind him. He whirled around in alarm, his hand reaching for the hilt of his long sword, which wasn't there. Not that it matters even if he had it because his hand went slack when he saw who it was who had made the sound.

His grandfather stood before him, crouching at the top of a tree stump. Grinning at him, his pride nevertheless showed clearly in his eyes as he gazed lovingly at his only grandson.

"Grandpa." Jax gasped, realizing at the same time that he was dreaming.

Chuckling to himself, his grandfather leaped off the tree stump and stood before him. His grandfather was just as he had remembered from his first dream, iron gray hair with a fierce bristling mustache of the same color. The only difference now was that his grandfather was a full head shorter than he is, though more muscled in limb than Jax was.

"You're a tall one. Must take after your mother's side of the family." Evan grinned mischievously up at him.

"Grandpa, what's going on? Where are we?"

"We're home." Evan made a sweeping gesture with his hand and Jax saw that they are at the top of a small hill overlooking a quaint little village. Smoke from the many home fires drifting lazily up from their respective chimneys. Several daunting looking man stood near a bridge, joking amongst themselves and laughing heartily. Then sharing some final words, they pounded each other good naturedly on the shoulders and went on their separate ways after crossing the bridge.

Thinking to himself that one of them looked very familiar, Jax peered at the man more intently and then suddenly gasped. Younger with shoulder length dark hair instead and a different great sword perched on his back was Tylor. He seemed to be heading towards the distant volcanic mountains.

Jax looked questioningly at his grandfather but Evan only nodded wordlessly and gestured for him to turn his attention back to the village. Confused, he glanced back.

It was suddenly night time and he could see a full moon shining. Sensing some movement beside him, Jax instinctively crouched. Several figures darted pass him and paused among the trees, their bright red eyes peering at the sleeping village with evil intent.

Getting a clearer view of these intruders, Jax drew in a sharp breath as he recognized the lizard like creatures that had also appeared in his first dream. With green scales that appeared almost black in the night light, the creatures stealthily edge themselves closer to the village.

Jax glanced around in alarm. Everywhere he looked are these creatures, moving silently across the field, using the surrounding trees as cover, their glimming red eyes seemingly as numerous as the stars above.

A long line of them held back and begun to draw back their arrows while several teams headed towards the village, using the foliage and rocks for cover. Jax begun to clenched and unclenched his fist. There had to be something he could do to help. Jax saw several guards moving past their rounds near the perimeter of the village, a team of about sixteen of the creatures creeping steadily closer to them from behind.

He'll shout, scream, anything, just to make them look behind them and see the evil creatures sneaking up on them. He opened his mouth but no sound emerged. Shivering with the emotions bubbling deep within him, he turned and saw his grandfather watching him quietly, studying him. Again, his grandfather gestured for him to watch what happened next.

He watched in helplessness as the creatures overcame the guards almost effortlessly. Most wielding dual swords, the creatures struck and several guards fell to the floor, the look of surprise on their faces while their blood poured from their slit throats.

Wordlessly, the teams split up and began infiltrating the many houses nearer to the perimeter. Jax began to sweat profusely. He knew what they were doing, knew it almost as if one of the scaly creatures is standing beside him, explaining to him in detail their strategy. They were infiltrating the homes of the bigger threats, the homes of the more experienced hunters.

Several of the creatures emerged from the houses, their blades bloodied and moved on to the next house. Suddenly, one of houses begun to emit metal clashing sounds from within. Seeing the home beginning to flare up with the bright light of fire, one of the guard towers near it began to ring its alarm bells but it did not get to ring long.

The line of archers hanging back released their lethal barrage and a swarm of arrows slammed into the guard tower. The ringing immediately ceased and a body fell screaming from it with several arrows sticking out of it.

Nocking their next arrows skillfully and swiftly, a second volley was released onto the village itself and Jax could see it rain down with lethal efficiency. Several villagers emerging from their homes with weapons in their hands, hadn't taken more than a few running steps before they dropped down lifelessly with arrows pierced through them.

Roaring with rage, Jax leaped towards the line of archers, fully intending to fight his way through them with his fist, desperately hoping his actions would give his people time to regroup and fight off this menace. Swinging his big fist at the closest archer, he watched in frustration as his hand passed through it.

"It's too late, Jax. You can't change what has already come to pass." Jax heard his grandfather speak behind him.

"NO! NO! I'll kill every last dog of them. I swear to the gods, I'll kill them all." Jax roared into the heavens.

"Then you'll end up no better than the one who sent them." Evan spoke quietly, firmly and his words struck Jax deeply.

"What do you mean grandfather? Who send them? TELL ME!"

But Evan continued to regard Jax grimly and again gestured towards the village. His eyes blurry from his tears of anger, Jax saw that his village was now a raging inferno. Everywhere his gaze rested, he saw bodies lying here and there and gritted his teeth tightly in pure fury.

In the blink of an eye, the line of lizardmen archers disappeared from his view. The many others of their kind Jax saw swarming his village before were suddenly gone as well, leaving behind only a small group to finish off any survivors.

All of a sudden, Jax saw a figure leaving the village. It was another one of the creatures. But its movement was curious, giving Jax the impression that it was trying to avoid detection from its own people. A rustling sound near Jax caused him to whirl around in alarm, but it was only a melynx poking its head cautiously out of a small bush. With a start, Jax realize the Melynx was waiting for the lizard creature.

Studying it more closely as it got closer to his position, Jax realize this was the same creature that had appeared in his first dream as well, the one that fought and killed the same lizard people that had killed his mom and grandfather. In its hands was two small bundles of cloth and Jax immediately guessed that one of the bundle was himself.

"You should thank her when you get the chance. After all, you wouldn't be alive if it weren't for her." Evan spoke behind him. "You and Sarah both."

"Sarah?" Jax asked without taking his eyes off the lizard woman.

"Lord Tylor's little sister." That caught his attention.

"Neela's real name is Sarah?" His grandfather nodded mutely.

Turning his attention back to Lizard woman, he saw the Melynx gestured behind her and the lizard woman immediately turned to see what the Melynx was pointing at. Jax saw Tylor racing towards the village at break neck speed. Soon as Tylor crossed the bridge, he saw him halt near the perimeter, aghast at the sight of bodies and the burning houses. Then almost immediately, Tylor raced into the heart of the burning village, roaring out names.

Hurriedly passing the two bundles to the Melynx, the lizard woman hissed something at it softly and then turning, swiftly dashed after the receding form of Tylor. The Melynx headed deeper into the woods without hesitation, struggling a little to balance with the two bundles in its small arms.

Losing sight of the lizard woman soon as she raced into the heart of the village, Jax turned towards his grandfather.

"What's going on, Grandpa? Why did they attack us? You said they were sent to attack our village, who sent them?"

But his grandfather only shook his head slowly.

"You will find the answers to that soon enough on your own, but there is something I can tell you, something that you must know." Evan looked at his grandson seriously.

Jax nodded and listened.

'

It was early evening when Neela went and gave Jax's room door a soft knock.

"Jax? Are you awake?"

Silence.

Knock knock. "Jax?"

Neela was certain Jax hadn't left his room. Turning the door handle, Neela slowly opened the door a little and peeked inside.

She was right, Jax is still in his room. But instead of finding him sleeping, she found him sitting on his bed, probe upright by one of his arms while his other arm rested on one of his bent knees. He appears to be deep in thought. He also appeared to be half undressed from his torso upwards, his muscular chest showing tantalizingly above the bed covers

Blushing a bright red, Neela ducked back behind the door and felt foolish. She can also feel her heart beating very fast. Clearing her throat a little to try and calm down, Neela gave the door another louder knock.

"What is it, Neela?" Jax voice answered softly.

"Are you up yet, Jax? Tylor just got back and I really think you should see what he brought back." Neela said from behind the door.

"Alright, give me five minutes to get dressed. I'll meet you outside."

"Ok."

Fifteen minutes later, after picking up Gron on the way, they all stood at the center of the village. They weren't alone. A huge crowd had gathered there as well. Nemesis had made it back to the village about twenty minutes earlier then Tylor, having had some difficulty hauling a massive head belonging to a Cephadrome with his small team of four hunters.

But the crowd wasn't gaping at the severed head of the Cephadrome. They were all gaping at what Tylor had brought back. Right beside the Cephadrome head is a massive cart towed by two adult popos. And on the cart, tied up securely just in case, was a live Blue Yian Kut Ku. Children packed the street, delighted to see something so unusual and secretly hoping they could make a pet out of it. Adults stood gaping, never in their long years in Pokke village had they ever seen a Yian Kut Ku before. Nemesis stood by the side, silently furious and eyeing Tylor with undisguised envy.

Jax eyed the tranquilized creature, noting its cracked scales, the multitude of slashes on its hide and its broken ears. Obviously the creature did not stand a chance against Tylor. Tylor himself however, appeared completely unharmed. Reluctant admiration and envy for the tall man's fighting skill against wyverns grew in him.

Watching Tylor talking with his characteristic coolness to the elder, Jax saw the Elder gave a small nod. Tylor nodded in return and turned his head to search the crowd. Spying Jax and the rest standing off to one side, Tylor motioned for them to approach him.

"Neela, take this list and bring it to Laura. Have her prepare as much as she can on all the items listed." Tylor said as he handed Neela a small scroll. "And tell her we need several of those potions listed in it as soon as she is able."

"Why would you need the potions for, bro…brother?" The unfamiliarity of calling Tylor her brother making her stutter her words. "You're not hurt are you?"

"Nope, not even a scratch. The potions are for him." Tylor gave an uncharacteristic grin to Neela and jerked his thumbs back at the slumbering bird wyvern.

"You are going to heal it?" Gron gaped.

"Of course, it's of no use to us half dead." Tylor answered but his eyes stayed on Jax.

"But why would we want to heal it?" Gron asked with rising confusion.

Tylor kept silent and continued to regard Jax with a sharp glance.

"Because it's going to be part of our training." Jax said softly

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End of Chapter 9

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	10. Chapter 10

Author Notes :- Grammar edited by dethphnix (A.K.A Legend Striker)..

Also, Please do vote up on what you think of my fanfic, Click on my Nick "Icowa", then click on the "Vote Now" button... thanz.

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Chapter 10

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"You're crazy. Do you know that, Jax?" Gron said, perspiration dripping down his face in his anxiety.

Jax smiled to himself but kept his eyes locked forward. He couldn't see Neela standing by his other side but he could sense her comforting presence providing backup in this crucial moment.

They all stood in the center of the huge arena, a place build long ago by the distant ancestors of Pokke village during the time when wyverns were as common as house flies. About thirty minutes journey away from the base of the mountain where Pokke village lies situated at the top, the arena was pretty much abandoned for the past few decades until recently.

Having made some renovations, the arena was basically a wide pit-like area where hunters are put inside to pit against captured wyverns. Surrounded on all sides by a steep wall of about two hundred feet high with a big gaping hole at the center, the hole had a number of archers with blunt arrows positioned around it. The arrows that these archers had ready are fitted with small bottles containing Wyvern's Bane Weed.

When a captured wyvern attempts to flee by flying through the hole, the archers would shoot at the wings where upon the bottles will break upon contact and unleashed the weeds. Once freed from the bottles and comes into contact with the wyverns membranous wings, the weed will instantly grow and wrapped around the wings tightly, immobilizing it within seconds and preventing the wyvern from using its wings.

The same archers are also utilized in the event when the hunters inside the arena are doing very badly and is about to get themselves killed in the arena. In that case, the sharp eyed archers would aim for the head, legs and wings of the wyvern. This being a necessary procedure since the arena lacked any entrances nor exits for the hunters to escape through. Method of entry is by climbing down ropes lowered through the gaping hole.

On one side of the wall, slightly below the gaping hole, a niche was carved into it. Large enough to house a number of important people to preside over the arena, Tylor along with Miki who clung gamely on his back, plus the Elder stood in it, waiting for the training exercise to begin.

With a wave of her hand, a large cage was slowly lowered into the arena with a complex system of pulleys and ropes. As the cage hit the ground with a thud, one of the hunters above the hole gave a sharp tug on the rope he was holding, breaking the detachable lock that held the cage door shut. With a loud bang, the door slammed open onto the hard packed dirt floor of the arena.

"Too late to worry about it now, Gron. Just remember what I told you guys. This fellow is going to hit fast, but our armors are probably able to absorb most of the damage. Besides, you know Tylor, nothing short of another swarm of wyverns descending down on Pokke village would make him change his mind on this."

Gron snorted. "What do you mean 'probably' able to absorb the damage?" Gron said testily, keeping his eyes locked on the cage opening.

Jax grinned but also kept his eyes locked on the cage opening. "Just avoid getting hit if you can. Remember that it can breathe fire at you though."

Just then, the head of the Blue Yian Kut Ku emerged from the cage opening slowly, curiously, as if wondering where it was. Glancing left and right for a few seconds, the Blue Yian Kut Ku fully emerged from the cage and stretched out its large wings.

"Well, at least it looks like it had a good nights sleep. I barely slept for 3 hours last night due to nervousness." Gron muttered and Neela giggled nervously.

Peering at the hole and the line of archers positioned around it, the Kut ku flapped its wings once, looking as if it would make a run for it. But then it hesitated. Jax guessed that the creature had sensed the Wyverns Bane weed the archers have loaded on their arrows. He had read that most smaller wyverns would avoid areas where the weeds are abundant. Only the bigger wyverns like Diablos and the like were immune to the lethal embrace of the weed.

Before long, the Kut Ku spotted them and lowered its head and stared at them angrily. The broken ears flared up menacingly and it scratched the floor viciously with its left leg, screeching a loud challenge at them.

"Here it comes." Jax muttered.

The Kut Ku charged at them.

"Scatter!" Jax ordered. Gron immediately dashed away to his right while Neela dashed to his left. Jax stayed flat footed on the spot and braced his Iron Katana 'Grace' before him. Just when the Kut Ku was a few feet away from him, He backflipped once to the rear and as soon as his foot landed, quickly made a dodge roll to his left. The Kut Ku crashed down head first heavily onto the spot Jax occupied earlier.

Seizing the opportunity, all three of them charge in for the kill. Jax immediately brought down his blade down onto the prone head of the Kut Ku, the sharp blade slicing deeply into the flared ears.

"Damn" Jax cursed when he tried to pull his blade free to make another swing. His blade has sunk in too deeply and gotten stuck in the thick ears.

Both Neela and Gron moved in when the Kut Ku crashed. Neela made a wild slash at the wing and tore through the seemingly fragile skin membrane while Gron aimed a mighty overhead blow on one of its back splayed legs.

The Kut Ku leaped back to its feet with amazing speed and Gron's huge hammer smashed heavily onto the hard packed floor, missing the legs completely. Jax viciously tugged his sword free and it broke loose a chip of the thick ears. Just as his sword broke free, the Kut Ku whirled around in a circle and whipped its tail.

Gron, unable to recover fast enough from the swing, got whipped on his chest and flew off to land heavily at one side. Jax quickly ducked and the tail flew harmlessly by over his head. Neela back flipped out of harms way with agility.

"Gron!" Jax shouted in concern but Gron got back to his feet, grimaced a little and waved to indicate that he was not seriously hurt. Turning his attention back to the Kut Ku, he saw it attempting a bite at Neela.

Neela leapt back a few steps, waited for the huge beak to snap at thin air and made another side slash at the beak. Leaving a deep scratch on the beak, Neela dive under the huge head and rolled onto her knees, making another low sweeping slash with her blade at the Kut Ku's feet.

It was a move Jax had often seen Neela do in their previous hunts together against Giapreys. She would often lure the bird like reptiles to make a bite at her after which, she would slash at its head, then dive rolled and make another slash at the legs. The result was often impressive since it would cripple the giaprey severely and enable Jax and Gron to finish it off without much problems.

It didn't work very well in this case. The scales on the Kut Ku's leg are much thicker and tougher than those on a Giaprey. Lacking the strength to penetrate the tough scales, Neela's sword rebounded painfully with a shower of sparks. Giving a cry of pain and surprise, Neela quickly rolled to her left twice just as the Kut Ku slammed its beak down and cracked the hard packed dirt floor.

Leaping back to her feet from the rolling maneuver, Neela hands shook with the shock of her blade rebounding off the tough scales. Grimly, she hung on gamely onto her blade. She hastily leaped back again as the Kut Ku snapped at her again.

Jax heart nearly stopped beating when he saw the Kut Ku slam its head down on Neela. Then a rush of blood filled his body when he saw Neela rolling safely out of the way. Desperately looking for an opening, Jax saw Gron roaring and running towards the Kut Ku.

"Gron! Wait Up!" Jax roared and leaped after him.

Gron dug in his heels and stopped when he heard Jax shout. Reaching him, Jax stopped and looked at the Kut Ku again. The bird wyvern was still busy trying to snap at Neela, who at that moment; was doing a great job in evading most of its attacks.

"Gron, get near the rear tail end and give me the Heave Ho, OK?"

Gron's eyes widened, but he nodded his head and quickly dashed to the required position. Reaching it, Gron turned his back on the Kut Ku and held his hammer horizontally with both hands at the same level as his knee.

Jax sheathed his weapon and crouched into a sprinter's stance, waiting for Gron to reach his destination. Seeing Gron turned to face him and giving him a nod, Jax sprinted towards Gron. Almost reaching him, Jax gave a leap and landed both feet solidly on the shaft of Gron's hammer.

With his muscle budging, Gron roared and lifted his hammer just as Jax feet landed on it, vaulting Jax high up into the air. Somersaulting once in mid air, Jax brandished his sword and stabbed downwards as he landed onto the Kut Ku's back. Half of his swords length slid smoothly through a crack between two thick scales.

The Kut Ku reared its head up from attacking Neela and screeched in agony and began hopping around erratically, trying to dislodge the blade from its back. Jax hung on for his dear life and tried to push the blade deeper. Gron ran towards the Kut ku again but saw its tail whipping towards him again.

Duck rolling under the tail swing this time, Gron swung his hammer as soon as he got back onto his legs. Missing once again and hitting empty air, Gron watch in confusion as the Kut Ku charged towards the arena wall, flames licking at the tips of its beak. Gron promptly charged after it.

"Oh Shit!" Jax thought to himself and braced himself as best as he could on the slippery scales and hung on to his blade tightly. Hoping his brand new Cephalos breast plate his father has newly made for him would absorb most of the damage, he braced for the impact, his shoulder length hair flaring out behind him in a straight line from the speed of the Kut Ku.

A loud cracking sound resounded as the Kut Ku rammed head first onto the wall. Jax's sword snapped at the hilt and he flew off, smacking solidly onto the wall with his back. Sliding down the wall in a daze, Jax tried to catch his breath as he watch the Kut Ku wobble dizzily on its feet.

Reaching the Kut Ku finally, Gron swung his huge hammer one more time and finally connected with the Kut Ku's leg. Breaking at the knee joint from the tremendous destructive power of the hammer, the Kut Ku toppled with a surprised screech while Gron deftly duck rolled out from under the falling bird wyvern.

Still struggling to get up but unable to put any weight on its crippled leg, the Kut Ku focused its eyes on Neela. Opening its huge beak, it attempted to breathe a fireball at her while lying on its side. But before it could, Jax rammed onto its prone head with his muscled shoulder and the fireball flew well over Neela's head to explode at a safe distance.

"Gron, my blade!! Nail it in" Jax shouted as he backed off from the Kut Ku, who tried to snap at him from its prone position.

Without hesitation, Gron did as ordered and smashed at the broken blade, driving it completely through and causing blood to spurt out and splash all over him. The Kut Ku gave one horrific scream of pain and trashed around viciously for a few seconds, then the head slumped down weakly and its good leg clawed pitifully in mid air.

"Jax!"

Jax suddenly heard Neela shout in an unnatural voice and turned to look at her. She was deathly pale and was looking at the dying bird wyvern with wide horror-filled eyes. Worry clutching at his heart with cold hands, Jax immediately ran up to Neela and tried to see where she was hurt. Running up to her, Jax looked at her in confusion as she appeared unharmed to him, but the look on her face was something that really frightened him to the core. It's like Neela had seen a ghost.

Turning to look at the Kut Ku, Jax could see the dying wyvern looking intently at Neela and suddenly remembered something his grandfather had told him in his dream. Jax could feel the blood drain from his face.

There was a soft thud behind him and Jax whirled to find Tylor landing heavily onto the arena floor. Straightening his tall form, Tylor calmly walks up to the still wyvern and readied his great sword. The Kut Ku closed its eyes as if it knew what is coming. Tylor swung down his blade and cleanly decapitated the wyvern's head. The clawed feet twitched a few more times and finally became still.

Behind him, Tylor heard Neela burst into tears, clutching at Jax and crying onto his shoulder. Jax hugged her close and patted her comfortingly on her shoulders.

"Shhhh, Neela, it's over now, shhhh." Jax said with calm.

Gron came up to them and watched Neela in confusion. "Whats wrong, Neela? Are you hurt?"

But Neela only kept on crying heart brokenly. When Tylor finally walked up to them, Neela looked up at him with tear reddened eyes.

"Brother! The Kut Ku… It spoke to me." The last words spoken in almost a scream.

Tylor looked on at her with a face devoted of facial expression. Gron paled.

"What did it say, Neela?" Tylor finally asked.

But Neela only shook her head bitterly and buried her face onto Jax's muscled chest.

"This is important, Neela, What did it say to you." Tylor persisted.

Several sobs answered him and finally, Neela mumbled with her face on Jax's chest.

"It said…." Neela couldn't continue. Jax hugged her comfortingly, encouragingly.

"It said … it said Kill me"

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End of Chapter 10

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	11. Chapter 11

Author Notes :- Grammar edited by dethphnix (A.K.A Legend Striker)..

Also, Please do vote up on what you think of my fanfic, Click on my Nick "Icowa", then click on the "Vote Now" button... thanz.

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Chapter 11

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Jax quietly walked down the stairs that leads away from Neela's room. Tylor and Gron both turned and looked at Jax.

"She's asleep. I had Miki watch over her in the mean time."

Tylor nodded and went back to sipping his cup of hot coffee. Gron twiddled his cup around by its handle, his face belying the fact that his mind is just in as much turmoil as Neela's mind was a few hours back.

Gron's thoughts kept going round and round inside his head. The Kut Ku spoke to Neela. So what does that mean? Does that mean that wyverns are sentient, that they have feelings like humans do? If so, doesn't that make killing them just the same as killing a fellow human being?

Gron looked up when Jax sat down. "Is she alright?"

Jax nodded. "She just needs some time to consider all this, that's all."

Looking at Tylor angrily, Jax tried to keep his voice calm but the edge of his anger somehow still manage to wiggle into his words. "Was that really necessary? Do we really need to have her find it out this way?"

Tylor quietly sipped his coffee with closed eyes. Just when he is about to answer Jax, he heard a faint creaking sound near the stairs. Glancing briefly in that direction with his eyes, he turned his attention back to Jax.

"She needs to know the extent of her abilities sooner or later, Jax. All in all, I believe she will adapt to it fine. Like you said, she just needs some time to sort it out herself."

"But come on. Seriously, the wyvern spoke to Neela? Maybe she was just tired. Hallucinating. You know. Things that happen to the mind when you're weak and tired." Gron cut in.

Seeing Tylor regard him with a penetrating gaze, Gron sighed to himself.

Putting down the coffee cup, Tylor crossed his thick arms across his chest. "In other words, you find it uncomfortable to know that wyverns are sentient?"

Gron refused to answer and kept his eyes on his cup of coffee, mimicking Jax.

"Let's not beat around the bushes this time and get to the point. Yes, Wyverns becomes more sentient the older they get. And there are some among the elders that have argued that wyverns also have emotions similar to our own. Anger, Sadness"

"Love?" Jax cut in.

Tylor shrugged. "Perhaps. There were not many who have the abilities to communicate with them and make it a hobby to study further on the subject"

"If that's the case, wouldn't that make us killing one just the same as killing a human?" Gron asked.

"In some ways, yes. But have you ever considered the fact that some wyverns are chaotic in nature, that they might be killing and harming humans not for food but for the sheer pleasure of it?"

Jax and Gron kept silent again.

"Was the Kut Ku chaotic in nature?" a voice spoke behind them.

Gron looked at Neela in alarm as she slowly stepped down the stairs. Jax and Tylor both did not seem to be surprised at this however.

"Couldn't you tell?" Tylor asked her and Neela shook her head in answer.

"Mmmm" Tylor rumbled in his chest.

"Was I supposed to be able to tell its nature?" Neela queried softly. Walking over to Jax's side of the table, she pulled out a chair and sat down. Miki, as usual, clung tenaciously to her back.

Before Tylor could answer her however, a knock on their door caught their attention. Jax hurried over to open the door.

"Elder!" Jax said in surprise.

"May I come in, young man?" the little woman looked up at Jax.

"Certainly" Flustered, Jax opened the door wider to permit the elderly woman and two guards carrying a large chest to enter. Setting the chest down near the doorway, the two guards left the house after receiving a nod from the elderly woman.

Just as the elder is hopping up and sitting down on one of the living room chairs comfortably, Wayne entered the living room from one of the side doors that led to his forge.

"I have brought some of the useable remains of the Blue Kut Ku for you, Wayne. I am sure there is enough for you to make a whole suit of Kut Ku armor with them." Wayne nodded gratefully at the Elder.

"And with your permission, Elder" Jax said suddenly, "I would like Neela to have that armor to wear" Five pairs of eyes instantly focused on Jax.

"But I don't want…." began Neela but Jax interrupted her.

"I don't want to hear your excuses anymore, Neela. You will wear that armor or I will cut you off from the team."

Neela paled. Jax knew instinctively that tears were now pooling in her eyes but he refused to look at her. An uncomfortable silence hung in the air.

Coughing softly, Elder nodded her head. "Yes, in fact, I was actually going to suggest the armor be given to her. But what about you, Jax? Your mismatched armor of Velociprey and Cephalos armor is not exactly suitable for any future missions."

Jax shrugged unconcernedly. "I'm sure something will come about eventually. So in the meantime, Neela gets that armor. Ok, Neela?" Jax looked at Neela. She made a small nod of her head but kept her face averted by having her head bowed low.

Jax sighed softly to himself, wishing he had used a different method to get her to wear the Kut Ku armor. But Neela could be pretty stubborn at times.

"There is also another matter that needs to be addressed" Tylor spoke in a business-like tone of voice. "Neela, the Long Sword is not your weapon."

"But….." Neela began again, raising her head in confusion to look at her tall brother.

"Listen first, Neela. You are agile and swift on your feet, certainly, but you simply do not have the skill nor the strength to handle a Long Sword efficiently. And if you are going to be of better use to the team in future, you are going to have to use a different weapon more suited to your abilities." The Elder nodded in agreement with his words.

"But…" Neela hedged again but stopped. How could she tell them that she started on long sword training just because of the simple fact that the sword was given to her by Jax. She didn't think they would understand and bowed her head low, keeping silent.

"Mmmmm." Gron rumbled in thought. "Then that's settled I suppose. I guess we can have Jax use her Long Sword while getting her a different weapon." He began to calculate the cost of a new weapon from the money they earned together in past missions in his mind.

"That will not be necessary. I believe that Wayne has something for the both of them." Wayne nodded at Tylor and headed for his forge.

"Gron, can you come and give me a hand?"

"Ok" Gron answered Wayne and followed.

While Tylor went back to closing his eyes with his arms across his chest, the Elder followed suit and closed her eyes, waiting patiently.

Jax reached under the table and held Neela's hand. "Forgive me, Neela. I don't know why I said that to you. It's just that…" Jax tried to explain softly.

Neela surprised him when she reached out and grip his hand hard in return. "I know, Jax. You just wanted what was best for me. But I…."

Just then, Wayne step back into the living room with Gron, who is carrying a big chest and accidentally bumped noisily with the door frame. Neela instantly lets go and Jax withdrew his hand.

But Jax wasn't paying attention to Gron. He was looking with wide eyes at the weapon that his father is holding. It is a scythe, but from what sort, he couldn't tell. It is as long as he was tall and reddish in color, looking very much like it is made more from bone than from metal. Though its sickle like blade looks bulky and dull, Jax knew without a doubt that it was extremely sharp.

Grinning from the look on Jax's face, Wayne directed Gron to set the chest on the living room guest table. Jax immediately stood up when his father walked up to him.

"Try not to break it on your next hunt, alright?" Wayne teased and gave Jax a wink of an eye. Grinning shamefacedly, Jax reached out and took hold of the amazing weapon, feeling a slight tingle ripple beneath his fingers when he touched it.

"Thanks, Dad"

"And now, Neela, come over here", walking over the chest that Gron helped carry, Wayne motioned for Neela to approach him. Approaching her surrogate father somewhat nervously, she found herself strangely frightened.

Reaching into the chest, Wayne brought out the weapon within. At first, Neela couldn't tell what kind of weapon it is because of the bright light reflecting off it. But when her eyes adjusted, she gasped.

The weapon was a bow. But it was unlike any other bow she had ever seen in her young life. When viewed from the front, it was in the shape of any 'X'. Covered with thick ring-like scales that shimmered with a metallic mirror-like finish, the bow made everyone but Wayne to stare at the magnificent weapon in awe.

Suddenly there was a soft thud behind Wayne, followed by the fast patter of small feet. Wayne whirled around in surprise to find the Elder standing behind him, her strangely bright eyes focused intensely on the bow. Reaching out a trembling finger, it looks like she was about to touch the bow. But before she even touched it, a flood of tears poured forth from her eyes and she collapse to her knees.

"Elder!" Neela gasp in surprise and rushed to her side. Putting her arms around the elder in concern, she watched in confusion as the elderly woman cried silently.

Confused himself, Jax glanced at Tylor and found the tall man still sitting on his chair, eyes closed. Jax found himself wondering whether there was anything in this world at all that could move the man.

"Elder?" Wayne said in concern, kneeling down and laying a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm alright" The Elder replied with a raise of her hand. "Help me to my chair"

Without hesitating, Wayne handed the bow to Neela and lifted the elder to her chair. When seated, the elder stared at Wayne with an intense look, making the man shift from foot to foot uncomfortably.

"Where did you get that?" the elder whispered piercingly.

"We salvaged it from Evan's home a few months after the attack" Tylor replied instead and the elder turned her burning gaze on him. "It was hidden in a secret cellar under the house along with this armor and my sword" Tylor spoke and thumped himself on the chest with his fist.

The Elder bowed her head at this and a few minutes of uncomfortable silence reigned.

"Come look for me tomorrow morning, Neela" the Elder spoke suddenly. "I will train you to use that bow and your abilities more efficiently"

"My abilities?" Neela asked in some confusion.

"She meant your abilities to communicate with wyverns, among other things" Jax answered for the elder. At this, Tylor opened his eyes and glanced at Jax with a strange look in his eyes.

Gron caught the look and was about to comment on it when a shimmering of light in the middle of the living room table caught his attention. Surprised, Gron turned his attention on it and watch in surprise as it materialized into the shape of a small lizard like creature. Light greenish purple in color, with small stubby wings, the small creature look very much like a small chameleon.

"What the…..?" Gron breathed.

"That's an elder dragon hatchling" Jax said calmly. "My people have been using that as message carriers. I believe they called it a Chameleos."

At this, Tylor narrowed his eyes alarmingly but Jax didn't notice as he eyed the little dragon intensely, as if studying and memorizing every detail of it.

"Then the dragon…..." Neela began.

"Belongs to Tylor" Jax finished for her. "I presume that it bears a message to Tylor from the other hunters that manage to survive the assault on Krator village."

Tylor kept silent and continued to regard Jax with that menacing look.

Reaching out a thick finger as if to pat the little dragon on its head, Gron suddenly leaped out of his chair with a loud bellow of pain. So fast that it seemed a blur to her, Neela thought she saw the little creature snapped something out of its mouth at Gron's finger. She couldn't help it and covered her mouth as she giggled at the sight of Gron wringing his finger and hopping around in pain.

"Holy cow. My finger is bleeding!" Gron breathed in awe as he looked at his bleeding finger. Jax smirked a little at the corner of his mouth.

"How do you know all this, Jax?" Tylor asked with a lethally calm voice. Jax's smirk immediately vanished.

Lowering his head a little as if in shame, Jax told him about the dream he had while Tylor was out capturing the Blue Yian Kut Ku. As they listened to this, both the face of Wayne and Tylor became grim.

"You saw your grandfather in your dream? And he told you all this?" Wayne asked in a strangled voice. Jax nodded while keeping his eyes downcast.

"What else did he tell you, Jax?" Tylor questioned, again in that lethal sounding voice. Jax stubbornly kept quiet.

Knowing he was not going to get any answer from Jax now, Tylor turned his attention to the little dragon. Tapping the table softly with three knocks, Tylor waited. The little dragon immediately raise its small wings showing a small little leather looking case attached to the underside of its left wing.

Reaching out and removing a small rolled up message from inside the small case, Tylor opened it and quickly scanned the contents. Making a small nod to himself, he tucked the note inside his breast plate armor and made a sharp whistle. The small dragon immediately flapped its wings and took flight as it slowly shimmered out of sight.

Crossing his thick arms across his chest again, Tylor sighed softly to himself.

"You are correct, Jax. We used the hatchlings to relay messages the way Hawks are used in Pokke Village. It has been that way ever since the hunter villages were first founded."

Glancing at Gron, Tylor continued, "Your village also utilized the hatchlings to relay the latest happenings with our own village in the past."

"My village?" Gron said in surprise. "What else do you know about my village?" Gron's father died in a hunting accident here in Pokke village when Gron was still a small lad. Orphaned then, Jax had came along and build a friendship with the lonely boy, doing odd jobs around the village and sharing the pay together. There was much about his own origins that he was unsure about.

"I only know that our village founders were friends since before the individual hunter villages were founded and that they all fought together during the Great Wyvern Wars. Krator village was founded by one who goes by the name of Melkor. He trained the people who settled in his village in the use of Greatswords, Long Swords and Heavy Bowguns. Your village was founded by a man named Belthic. He specialized in the use of Hammers and hunting Horns. Your people were well known for their brute strength and it served them well in the war."

"What happened in the end?"Gron asked without thinking.

Startled, Tylor looked at Gron, "What do you mean?"

"Errrr, I mean, what happened to our founders?"

"Hmmm, I don't think anyone knows the answer to that. They just got together one fine day for one final hunt and that's the last anyone has heard of them. But their legacy lived on."

Suddenly giving Wayne a nod of his head, Wayne nodded back at Tylor in understanding. Wayne stood up from his chair and spoke, "Jax, come and give me a hand with something in the forge."

Not answering, Jax stood up to follow his father.

Soon as the door closed, Tylor leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table with his fingers linked together. Neela looked at him in consternation.

"We will have to keep a careful eye on Jax from now onwards." Tylor spoke suddenly. Puzzled, Gron and Neela listened. "I think he knows a lot more than he is letting on."

"Please explain yourself." Elder spoke impatiently.

"I don't like this dream he is having with my Sensei. We have a saying among my people in regards to this. When someone keeps dreaming about relatives that have long since passed away, they said it means…." Tylor hesitated, wondering whether he should let the others know or not.

"What is it, Brother?" Neela asked in concern.

Sighing softly to himself first, Tylor replied, "It means that the dreamer is going to die."

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Chapter 11 End

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	12. Chapter 12

Author Notes :- Grammar edited by dethphnix (A.K.A Legend Striker)..

Also, Please do vote up on what you think of my fanfic, Click on my Nick "Icowa", then click on the "Vote Now" button... thanz.

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Chapter 12

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It was night time when Neela pulled herself off her bed. She couldn't sleep. The words her brother used kept ringing inside her head. If it had been anyone else but her brother who had made such a statement, she would have laughed it off without much thought.

Deeply disturbed than she thought possible, she dressed up in her Giaprey armor and softly tiptoed her way out of her room, not wanting to wake up Miki who was sleeping soundly on her bed. Going down the stairs, she came up to Jax's bedroom door and silently opened it.

Stealthily sneaking into the room, she watched silently as Jax slept on undisturbed, snoring softly every once in a while. Jax must be dead tired since he stayed up real late with Wayne tomake the Blue Kut Ku armor for her.

Slowly creeping up to the bed, she first laid her hands on Jax chest, feeling his heart beat strongly. Then unable to overcome her feelings, she slowly laid her head on his chest, feeling his chest rise and fall from his breathing. Jax slept on unaware, a fine proof that he was exhausted else he would have probably woken up at the feel of someone creeping up his bed, flushing a deep red.

Raising her head, she looked closely at Jax slumbering face, feeling a sharp sting in her heart.

"You're not going to leave me, are you, Jax?" She whispered softly. Feeling her eyes starting to tear, she quickly moved her face away from Jax, fearful that her tears would drip on Jax and wake him up.

Watching him sleep on peacefully, Neela tightened her lips into a thin line and decided on a resolution. As silently as she came, she left the room.

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The Elder was at her usual spot, staring off into the distant snow mountains when she heard footsteps crunch through the soft snow behind her.

"You are early" She spoke.

Neela stood behind the elder, resolutely clinging on to her bow and keeping silent. As long as she could remember, she never could seem to recall any moments where she saw the elderly woman sleeping.

Tylor however, slept in his customary cross-legged position, his arms across his chest and leaning his back against the Sacred Mount. Neela had once tried to convince her brother to sleep in Wayne's guest room, but her brother had simply replied that he wasn't used to sleeping under a roof anymore and Neela had left it at that.

Ever since the Elder had begun to fortify and strengthen the village defenses, she had also ordered the construction of several open air stages close to the Sacred Mount where wooden dummies, archery targets and the like were constructed. Here, she had most of the villagers as well as new hunter recruits undergo basic combat and archery training.

Several torches were set around the area, providing illumination in the dark night. Pointing a finger wordlessly at the archery targets, the elder continued to look off into the distant mountains. Without a word, Neela began her archery practice.

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"Dad, Neela's not in her room" Jax shouted as he stomped down the stairs, Miki riding smoothly on his back.

"No worries, Jax. She's off to her lessons with the Elder" Wayne said without looking up. He was diligently polishing the Kut Ku helm he just finished making last night. The rest of the armor, chest plates, gauntlets and leg greaves were all ready and shining on the living room table.

"Oh. Ok." Jax headed for the door.

"Not so fast young man!" Wayne suddenly spoke and put down the helm on the table. Standing up and walking over to Jax, Wayne wiped his hands dry on his forge apron.

Stopping in his tracks, Jax looked at his father questioningly.

"First we are going to wait for Gron to come. Then when he does, I am going to give both you and Gron a haircut"

"Huh?" Jax's eyes widened. "But I don't need a haircut."

"Sure you do. Wanna know why?" Wayne grinned mysteriously at Jax.

Without warning, his father grabbed Jax's left hand with his right hand and hooked a leg behind Jax. Reaching his left hand behind Jax, Wayne grabbed a fistful of hair and yanked. Jax fell heavily backwards with a loud thud.

Though his father barely came up to his shoulder in height, Wayne looked as tall as a mountain from his prone position. Jax could only gasp in disbelief as he laid flat on the floor. Miki had instinctively leaped out of the way when Wayne first grabbed Jax.

Turning to face the door, Wayne looked at Gron who just happened to open the door and saw Jax being bested by his own father.

"Any more questions?" Wayne asked with a smirk.

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Neela practiced all night till morning. By that time, she was not only practicing to shoot with relative accuracy from a standing point, she was now learning to shoot after making a sideway dodge roll and so on. More often than not after making these difficult maneuvers, she still managed to shoot several well placed arrows at the archery targets.

"How is she doing?" Watching Neela practiced, Tylor directed the question at the elderly woman who stood to his side.

"She has a natural talent for the Longbow. I seriously did not consider it possible that she will be able to get this far in just a few hours."

"Mmmm" Tylor rumbled just as Jax and Gron showed up in the training grounds. Neela was just about to stop and rest a while when she caught sight of her team mates. A bit tired to notice at first, Neela thought to herself that both of them look weird today. When she finally figured out why, she broke into laughter.

A bit peeved at this as they walked up to her, Jax said grumpily to her, "Well, at least you're in a good mood today."

"I'm sorry, Jax." Neela said as she tried to control her mirth. When she finally calm down from laughing, she took a careful look at the both of them.

"Well, I thought you guys looked weird at first but now, I think it kind of makes the both of you look dashing." Neela grinned at them.

"Why do I get this feeling that you are still laughing at us?" Gron said testily and Neela broke into laughter again. Unable to resist the infectious mood set by Neela's laughter, Jax grinned along with her.

"Well, let's go and get breakfast, Neela." Jax said and turned to head for the tavern. Miki jumped off from Jax's back and leaped to Neela's.

"Not yet, Jax. I think I am going to practice on my bow further." Neela said and went back to her archery practice. Caught off guard, Jax and Gron could only stare at her in surprise. Not once in their life had Neela ever turned down any offers of free food.

"I think I'll join you guys for breakfast." Tylor said unexpectedly. Walking towards them, Tylor caught the pale look on Jax's face.

"Don't worry, I'll handle the food expenses myself." Tylor said with a grin.

"Uhh. I didn't mean it that way……" Jax began.

"Sure you do." Tylor said cheerfully and gave Jax a hearty clap to the back, almost sending Jax crashing head first into the snow.

Rubbing his shoulder a bit ruefully, Jax nonetheless laughed along with Gron and followed Tylor.

Neela relaxed her hold on her bow and glance at their direction. Watching her brother share a rare mood of cheeriness with Jax and Gron, she felt herself relaxed a little at the sight of them laughing together.

"Neela?"

Flushing a bright red, Neela quickly turned and face the elder, certain that she is going to be scolded for losing concentration in her practice. "Yes, Ma'am?"

"Take a look at the arrows you shot at the targets. Can you see anything wrong with them?"

Neela squinted her eyes and looked. Most of the arrows are well within the circles of the targets, but none at the bull's eye. For the life of her, she couldn't tell what's wrong with the arrows she shot. Looking at the Elder again, she shook her head.

"Very well. Hand me your bow." Neela complied.

Because the Bow was almost twice as long as the Elder was tall, she held it at a horizontal angle and pulled back on the bowstring. Having a shorter arm than Neela, the elderly woman is also unable to pull back fully on the bow.

Neela looked and softly gasped to herself. The arrow head began to glow a fiery white in color and before she knew it, it flashed out of her vision in an instant. Confused, she looked at the archery targets and the blood drained from her face.

The arrow struck neatly into the bull's eye and not only that, it sunk all the way through until only an inch of its feathered tail end showed in the canvas. Now Neela can see what the elder has been trying to show her. All her arrows stuck thinly through the canvas targets while the Elder's arrow penetrated deeply. She tried to imagine her arrows hitting on the thick armored scales of wyverns and she flushed in shame at her lack of skill.

"There is a reason why Jax insisted on the Blue Kut Ku armor to be given to you", the Elder spoke suddenly. "Armors made from the hides and bones of wyverns have a way of enhancing certain abilities on the wearer. But some have the unfortunate property to cause the wearer to be weaker in a certain way as well."

"The same goes for weapons made from wyverns. Take Jax's new weapon for example. It has the ability to scorch upon impact, provided the user knows how to activate this ability of the weapon."

Neela thought very carefully with this new information. "Then what do I have to do to activate the bows special abilities?"

"With your emotions", the elder replied simply.

"My emotions?", Neela wondered aloud.

"Your anger to be exact", the Elder said. "But be warned, it would not be wise to pour all your emotions into one shot. It has a way of sapping your strength if you do. Send in too much and you might lose your life in the process."

Neela's eyes grew wide at this. "I see. Was the Long Bow your specialty in the past, Elder?"

The elderly woman sighed softly to herself, eyes gazing sadly at the bow in her hands. "No, Neela. This is the first time I used a bow."

Neela's mind spun in confusion. "But I thought…." Neela began but stopped mid way.

"You thought that this bow once belongs to me?", Elder asked. Neela nodded.

Fingering the ring-like scales on the bow gently, almost lovingly, the elderly woman sighed softly to herself. "Once when I was young, I had a brother who specialized in the use of long bows and I in the use of Swords and shields"

"We both fought in the Great Wyvern Wars and in one of the battles, the troops we travelled with were decimated by a pair of Kushala Daora's. We had no choice but to flee the battle and in the process, we got lost in a swamp."

Neela listened in silence, her head dizzied by this information. The Great Wyvern Wars happened almost one hundred and fifty years ago. She knew the Elder was old but to think she had lived well over a century certainly never occurred to her.

"We were attacked again in the swamp by something. It was dark and raining then, we couldn't see well. I don't think even an army of hunters could handle the creature", the elderly woman continued.

Lifting the side of her shirt up, the Elder showed a long ugly scar that slashed through her side. "I was mortally wounded and things got confused then. That's the last time I saw my brother."

Then a few minutes of silence stretched forth. The elderly woman continued to gaze at the bow in her hands.

"So the bow belonged to your brother?", Neela tried again.

The Elder shook her head.

"I believed that this bow IS my brother." The words shivered in the chill winter air.

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Jax just shoved the last spoonful of food into his mouth when the tavern door banged open loudly.

"Jax, the Elder requests your presence immediately." Nemesis growled roughly.

Jax exchanged a look with Gron and Tylor and they all hurried to follow Nemesis. Upon reaching the Elder, Jax glance at the Archery practice ground. Neela is not there.

"Elder, where is Neela?" Jax asked.

"I send her off on an errand." The elder said impatiently.

"What?! You send her off somewhere without us?" Jax began but the Elder stared at him with a fierce eye and he stammered silent.

"I did not ask for you to discuss about Neela." Using her cane, she pointed it towards the jungles, a rough journey of about an hour from the arena. "A red signal flare was launched from there a few minutes ago."

" A Red signal flare? Is that the teams sent to protect the miners at the volcanic regions?" Gron asked. Red signal flares are used by hunter teams to signal for help.

"I believe so. Now head on over there and provide backup." The Elder stated.

"But what about Neela? Shouldn't we look for her and get her to come with us?" Jax said.

But Nemesis gave him and Gron a rough shove. "You have your orders. MOVE!"

Jax looked at Gron and received a nod in return. They were given an order and there was no backing off this time. They started to run for the jungles when Jax stopped and turned back to look at Tylor.

"Tylor?"

"I'm not coming with you this time, Jax." Tylor said simply. "Go!"

Not having much choice in this matter, Jax ran and Gron followed.

Tylor glanced at their receding forms mutely and after a moment, closed his eyes as if to concentrate on something. Then sensing something, he opened his eyes and stared down to the other side of the snowy mountain on which Pokke village was situated on.

Squinting his eyes, he could not see but sense Neela heading down that area.

"You are aware that if anything were to happen to Sarah, I would tear down this miserable village down around your ears?" Tylor said with lethal calm.

Nemesis heard him and growled angrily in his chest.

The Elder held up her hand to stop Nemesis from doing anything. "I have faith in Neela, as should you."

Tylor kept silent.

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End of Chapter 12

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	13. Chapter 13

Author Notes :- Grammar edited by dethphnix (A.K.A Legend Striker)..

Also, Please do vote up on what you think of my fanfic, Click on my Nick "Icowa", then click on the "Vote Now" button... thanz.

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Chapter 13

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Neela leaped over the small underbrush with ease, her new blue Kut-Ku armor providing good protection from the bush's thorny leaves. She couldn't believe her current predicament. One minute, the Elder made some cryptic remark about the bow being her brother and the next thing she knew, the elderly woman apparently sensed something and immediately sent her off home to put on her new armor.

Rushing home and then back to the elderly woman as ordered, she hadn't even caught her breath yet when the Elder just pointed North East and ordered her to set off at once. When she stammered something about getting Jax and the others first, the Elder gave her a very fierce look.

"No, Neela", the Elder said somewhat impatiently. "You are going there alone this time."

"But..."

"There's no time for explanations, just do as I say", the Elder ordered fiercely. "And bring Miki along with you."

"Miki?" Neela wondered aloud. Glancing over her shoulder at Miki, she found it staring down the mountain in a north easterly direction with bright glittering eyes.

"Neela, Don't make me repeat myself. GO!" the Elder said once more, the anger in her voice unmistakable. Neela had no choice but to obey her.

Dashing into a small clearing in the forest, she stopped for a moment to catch her breath. Before her were two paths and she decided to seize the moment to rest. Not having the slightest clue on which path to take, Neela tried closing her eyes to concentrate.

She sensed something but since she was not yet well trained in her abilities, she had difficulty in using her senses to choose the correct path. Opening her eyes and grunting at herself in annoyance, she decided to try the right path and started to dash in that direction.

But she stopped when she felt Miki tugging at her hair. "What is it, Miki?"

"That way, that way, Nya!", the little felyne pointed down the left path.

"Are you sure, Miki?" Neela asked.

Miki nodded its small head and smiled, revealing its small sharp teeth. With a small feeling of doubt in her mind, she nonetheless dashed down the left path.

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Jax and Gron made good time dashing down the mountain and were well on their way past the Pokke Arena, heading for the forests. Jax had only been to the forest once and it was with his dad on a boar hunting trip. It was the only time in the year where he got to do something together with his father, and the place where he first decided to become a hunter.

Still a good fifteen minutes away from the forest, Jax could already see the massive towering oak trees that grew in that region. With tree trunks that required at least twenty full grown men to link arms together in order to encircle it, the trees were very impressive in Jax's mind. A thick canopy of leaves blotted out sunlight, leaving the interior cool and somewhat dark. It gave a rather sinister feel to the environment.

"Are we almost there?" Gron asked almost breathlessly. More accustomed to jogging than in sprinting, Gron found it hard to breathe with his heart beating at a fast rate.

"Almost there. We can see the oak trees from here. A couple of minutes more, I think."

Gron nodded his head, forgetting that Jax couldn't see him nod from way out front. "Are you sure of where we are going?"

"Pretty sure." Jax neglected to mention that it had been well over five years since he had last been to the area. He also neglected to tell Gron that he was not following any paths at all at the moment. Like Neela, he could sense something within the dark woods and it was this feeling that was currently guiding his steps.

Finally plunging into dark interior of the forest, Jax and Gron paused briefly to catch their breaths.

"Damn, it's been a rather long time since I got this winded. How much farther do we have to go?" Gron stated breathlessly.

Looking off into the distance, Jax tried to make an estimate on how much distance they had yet to cover.

"I'm not sure." Jax finally admitted in defeat. "But it's in that direction." He pointed to the north.

"OK. But I fail to see what we can do if we arrive at our destination all winded like this." Gron breathed as he bent over, his tired body supported by his arms grasping at his knee.

"Heh heh, Don't worry about it. Tylor had Laura made some new potion he called a Power Juice. One gulp from it and we'll feel like a million gold coins and ready for a million battles." Jax grinned even though he felt like he was going to collapse any minute now from exhaustion.

"Yea right..." muttered Gron.

"Ready?"

"Ok, lead the way"

Jax sprinted off again and Gron followed.

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She no longer had any conception of how long she had been running. It all seemed an endless vista of brown tree trunks and green leaves wherever she went. The path she had been following ended several minutes ago and she had to rely on Miki's directions.

Doubtful at first, but the confidence in the little felyne's eyes convinced her. Whenever she felt the feeling diminish, she would just look at Miki and it would point a new direction for her to follow. Sure enough, the feeling would come back strong as ever.

Bursting into another small clearing with a wide and tall cliff to her right, Neela rested her hand on the cliff, gasping with fatigue. Almost instantly, her eyes widened in alarm and she leapt several paces back away from the cliff and glanced upwards.

On top of the cliff is a tall figure, silhouette against the afternoon sun.

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"You have got to be kidding me", Gron gasped in anxiety. Jax kept his back to Gron and smiled thinly to himself.

Before them was a wide ravine of at least twelve feet apart. On either side of it, the great oak trees stood solidly like sentinels. Walking closer to the ravine, Jax looked down and noted the small stream of water meandering around sharp looking rocks that jutted upwards from the waterbed. "Falling down the ravine is certain death", Jax thought to himself.

Jax tried to back away, hoping Gron wouldn't get it into his head to look down the ravine as well. Turning halfway around, Jax sighed to himself when he saw Gron looking down the ravine and shuddering.

"I don't think we have any choice, Gron" Jax walked up and laid a reassuring hand on Gron's shoulder. "It's not very wide anyway. We can leap it."

"Oh no we don't. I think it would be better if we find a way around it." Gron backed up from the ravine nervously, hands held up as if to ward off a blow.

"Come on Gron, look around you. The ravine stretches as far as we can see on either side. There is no other way."

"Jax, we don't even know if the others are on the other side of that ravine" Gron shouted in exasperation and pointed an angry finger at the other side of the ravine.

"Are you sure of that?" Jax said softly.

Surprised at Jax's reaction, Gron glanced across the ravine and gasped. On the other side of the ravine, Jenna waved at them urgently.

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Neela felt sweat trickle down the side of her face. Trying to keep her arm steady as she aimed her arrow at the figure, she waited for the figure to make its move. Is this the reason the Elder send her off on her own, she wondered to herself.

She kept her eye on the figure but she couldn't tell much about it, silhouette against the afternoon sun as it is. All she could tell about the figure is that it was heavily robed. A stray breeze blew past and ruffled the robes slightly. Without a doubt, she was positive that this figure has been spying on her and her team mates ever since they had joined the hunter's guild.

After a few minutes where nothing happened, Neela began to grow angry and impatient. The tension in the air grew unbearable as the figure continued to eye her without making any moves.

"WHO ARE YOU?! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!" Neela finally shouted at the figure and her weakening arm wobbled a little.

The figure did not answer her but continued to regard her silently for a few minutes more. Then it suddenly raised its arm. Neela tensed her legs and crouch down a little, ready to spring in any direction in case the figure decided to leap down at her.

But all the figure did was point a finger slightly to the North East. A stronger breeze blew and the front of the robes parted slightly. A bright greenish glitter emanated from the chest.

Confused, Neela glanced towards where the figure pointed for a brief moment. But when she turned back to face the figure, it was gone.

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"Jax..." Gron said warningly.

Jax pretended he didn't hear and gulp down some power juice. True to its nature, Jax felt his muscles revitalize and felt renewed strength flow through his limbs. Popping the cock back on the potion bottle, Jax flung it to Gron lightly.

"Jax, are you listening to me?" Gron said in desperation as he caught the potion bottle handily.

"I am, Gron. But like I first told you, we don't have much choice at the moment." Jax readied himself for the dash and leap across the ravine. Gron stubbornly kept his eyes on the potion bottle.

Jax sighed. "Gron, if there were a situation where I am on the other side of the ravine and is about to have my head bitten off by some wyvern, would you leap over the ravine to come and save me?" Gron kept silent.

"Well, let me tell you this then. If the situation was reversed and I saw you in danger, I wouldn't have given a damn if the ravine is as wide as the width of Pokke Village. I would have rather died trying than to stand here and watch you getting mauled to death." Jax said quietly.

Without another word, Jax sprinted for it and just before he reached the edge, made a great leap. Gracing the air smoothly, Jax landed on the other side with a few inches of ground to spare. Turning back, he found Gron still standing there clutching at the potion bottle.

Gron stared blankly at the potion bottle in his hands, visions of Jax in danger while he stayed behind safely from across the ravine crossing his mind. Then he recalled the words that Tylor spoke, "The dreamer is going to die."

Gripping his left fist tightly, he recalled himself saying softly to himself then, "Over my dead body he will."

Biting the cock off the potion bottle, Gron gulped down the rest of the contents and flung the empty bottle onto the ground where it shattered. Forcing the sight of the sharp jagged rocks at the bottom of the ravine from his mind, Gron ran like he never ran before and leaped.

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She was very close now, of that she was very certain. Carefully keeping an arrow nocked to her bowstring, she stealthily and slowly edged forward foot by foot. All the while, she concentrated on her hearing. The forest was deathly silent except for the sound of heavy breathing. A breathing sound that is not made by man.

Edging behind a tree, Neela slowly poke her head out by the side and peeked.

"Oh my!" Neela breathed to herself softly.

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"Where are the others? And what are you doing here anyway?" Jax asked Jenna.

"I ran ahead to get help and heard you guys from here. We have four teams guarding the miners and Narok stayed back to fight it." Jenna replied shakily and pointed back at the forest.

"What do you mean? Narok stayed behind to fight what?" Jax asked. Behind him, Gron stayed ominously silent, his face as dark as the black clouds above them. The dark interior of the forest plus the darkening sky made it seem almost night time from the inside.

"I am not sure. It just came out of nowhere and attacked without warning. Several of the miners were poisoned by it and the four teams have their hands full just trying to carry the poisoned miners on their backs."

"Jax, where are the other teams from Pokke village? You need to go and help Narok. I can see it from his face that he is terrified of the monster. But he stayed behind to give us more time to get away." Jenna said with feeling and gripped Jax's arm tightly.

"Don't worry, Jenna. I am sure the Elder will be sending more teams. But in the meantime, Gron and I will get to Narok and provide backup until more help arrives. Which direction was it when you last saw Narok?"

Jenna pointed to the north west. "Please hurry. What ever that thing was, I don't think Narok's team can handle it alone"

Jax nodded. "Let's go, Gron"

"WAIT! What about me?" Jenna shouted and leaped after them.

"Head back to the poisoned miners. You are the only one with the medical knowledge to help them out at the moment." Jax replied while running.

Jenna nodded at him, broke off her pursuit and headed north.

"What do you think the monster is?" Gron asked suddenly after a few minutes of running.

"Your guess is as good as mine, Gron." Jax commented.

A light rain began to drizzle outside and water droplets collected by the leaves of the huge oak trees slowly seeped through the thick canopy and drop down in big drops. Visibility immediately decreases and Jax noticed that he couldn't see very far.

"Jax, Wait! Did you see that?!" Gron grabs at Jax's arm roughly, dragging him to a stop. "Right there! Do you see it?" Gron pointed.

Jax squinted his eyes and peered carefully. Then his eyes widened. There was a faint glitter of light coming from that direction.

"Be ready, Gron!" Jax gripped his weapons hilt but didn't pull it out of the sheath. Gron nodded.

But when they reached the spot, they could only look on in horror. They have stumbled upon a body. The glimmer they saw was faint light reflecting off a metal belt buckle. The lower torso lies sticking out of a huge bird-like foot imprint while the upper torso is mashed beyond recognition. Looking grimly at the scene, Jax saw with horrific detail in his mind, the man screaming as the huge feet stomped down on him, crushing bones like egg shells.

Wiping the raindrops dripping down into his eyes, Jax was about to speak when a roar resounded not far from their position. Without wasting a second, both Gron and Jax immediately headed towards the sound. When they reached the scene, they were shocked beyond words.

They beheld the sight of a huge bird like wyvern, a specimen bigger than the Blue Kut Ku they faced in the arena. With rubbery-looking purple skin, the creature spotted a curious light greenish tail and a crystalline looking crest on its head. Even in the faint light, Jax could see an evil glint radiate from its eyes.

Before the creature were three men, one of them down on his arms and knees, vomiting violently. Another of the man were screaming in shock and rubbing his eyes with his fists. The bird wyvern pounced forward with its beak wide open. Before Jax's astonished eyes, the third man dashed and pushed the second man away from the attack while leaving himself wide open.

The bird wyvern bit the third man by the neck and lifted the flailing body off the ground as the second man looked on with horror. Shaking its head viciously from side to side, the bird wyvern bit harder through the neck and the headless body spun away in the air, spewing blood in all directions.

"NATHAN!!", The second man roared in anguished.

"Gypceros", Jax's brain registered.

Reaching the huge beast just as the corpse flew over their heads, both Jax and Gron swung their weapons. Gron caught the beast by the thigh but because of the rubbery texture of the creatures hide, his hammer bounced off and caused Gron to loose his balance for a while. Jax aimed at it's rubbery tail and his scythe's sharp blade bit painfully into the flesh.

Screeching in anger, the creature whirled around to face its new aggressors. Gron quickly backtracked from the creature, waiting for it to make a move. With his blade still imbedded in its skin, Jax lost his footing and swung along with his blade. But when the creature stopped to glare angrily at Gron, Jax dug in his foot and pulled his scythe out, opening a deep gash on the creature.

Screeching suddenly, the creature surprised them when it charged between the both of them and vanished into the darkness.

"Gron, go help them out", Jax ordered and pointed at the two downed man. "I'll try and chase that thing down." Gron nodded and ran back towards the injured men.

Jax turned and was about to chase after the creature when out of the darkness, the creature charged right back into their mist. Leaping out of the way or else be trampled, Jax got back on his feet just in time to see the creature stopped a few feet away from Gron.

Upon hearing the beast return, Gron had braced himself with his hammer, waiting for the creature to get within his hammer range. But the creature stopped short a few feet away and spun in a circle. Remembering the creature's short and stubby tail, Gron confidently stayed put and planned to charge in again once the tail swung past. Then his eyes widened in shock.

Spinning, the creature's tail stretched out longer like a rubber band and whacked Gron solidly on his chest, sending him flying away. Landing heavily, Gron grimaced and quickly got back on his feet. Hearing the creature make a long croaking sound, Gron got the feeling that the creature is laughing at him and his fury blew out of proportion.

"WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT, YOU OVERGROWN TURKEY!!" Gron roared in a rage and charged.

The Gypceros calmly raises its head and a sudden bright flash rendered the dark interior of the forest as bright as day. Blinded by the bright light, Gron stopped in his tracks and shook his head, trying to clear the bright spots that suddenly filled his vision. Without warning, Gron felt something like slime splatter all around him and he dropped down on his knees, feeling very nauseous and weak.

"Damn it!", Gron cursed weakly and vomited violently. He tried to get back on his feet but his wobbly legs couldn't support his weight anymore and his hands couldn't even grip his hammer properly.

Having recovered his vision, Jax watched in growing horror as Gron got poisoned by the Gpyceros's venomous spit. Jax charged for it in an effort to save his friend. The Gypceros walked up triumphantly towards Gron and opens its beak. But before it could bite at Gron's head, out of the darkness came Narok, charging with his lance.

The lance struck the crest on the Gypceros' forehead, cracking it slightly and causing it to wobble. The surprised creature retaliated by butting its head sideways. Narok braced his huge steel shield before him and the Gypceros head slammed loudly against it. Leaping sideways, Narok positioned himself so that he stood between Gron and the creature, shielding the prone warrior from further attacks.

But the Gypceros turned tail and ran back into the darkness, its shrieks of anger echoing loudly. Narok continued to stand guard in case the Gypceros came back while Jax ran up to check on Gron. Lying on his back, Gron spasmed painfully and Jax saw his fingernails turn an ugly black.

"Sorry for the delay, Jax. I had to feed Jarek some antidote to counter the poisons effect." Narok said while scanning around with his eyes. Sparing a moment to glance at Gron, Narok narrowed his eyes. "But Jarek didn't react this badly like your friend is."

Eye brows creased in worry, Jax quickly uncorks his antidote potion and let Gron gulp some, but it doesn't seem to help much. Gron began to froth in the mouth. Just when a sudden thought popped into his head, he heard Narok bracing his shield up once again.

"Jax, I think it is coming back. We have to get out of here." Narok said urgently.

Standing up, Jax tossed the bottle of antidote at Narok. Caught off guard, Narok lets go off his lance in a hasty attempt to catch the bottle.

"I am going to distract the beast. You have to take off Gron's armor and feed him the antidote again." Jax said calmly.

"What are you talking about?" Narok asked angrily. In terms of rank, Narok was Jax's senior and he felt angered when ordered by someone who was lower in rank.

"I don't have time to explain." Jax can hear now the sound of stomping feet but he couldn't tell where it is coming from in the darkness. "The armor is making him exceptionally weak to poison. You are going to have to take his armor off and try the antidote again."

Narok opened his mouth to retort but before he could, the Gypceros charge back at them from the south. Jax gave an angry roar and charge towards it, his hand on his weapons hilt perched on his back. Digging his foot in suddenly, Jax whipped his scythe off his back and flung it towards the Gypceros. Spinning furiously, the weapon flew and struck a sharp blow at the Gypceros crest and shattered it.

A small explosion rocked the clearing as the crystalline crest shattered. Jax ignored the explosion and continued to race towards the Gypceros. Leaping up into the air, Jax caught his weapon handily as it fell and ran passed the stunned creature.

As Jax predicted, the Gypceros became furious when it recovered and roared in a rage. With smoke flaring out of its nostrils and the lids of its eyes glowing furiously in white, the Gypceros turned around and chased after Jax.

Watching Jax luring the creature away, Narok fumed silently and cursed the young fool. Turning his attention back to Gron, he tried to do as Jax ordered.

Jax ran as fast as he could, heading south. Behind him, he heard the Gypceros screeching and screaming after him. It is too dark inside to see so Jax figured that his best chance of survival is draw it out in the open. And the only place he could think of is near the ravine.

The Gypceros raced by him almost effortlessly and made a sharp turn in an attempt to cut him off but Jax zig-zagged past him and continued to head south. The Gypceros let loose a roar of frustration and followed.

After what seemed like an eternity, the welcome sight of the ravine came into view. Pausing a few feet away from the ravine, Jax turned to face the approaching Gypceros. The rain was heavier here and Jax felt the rain water drench his undershirts. Jax shifted his grip slightly on his wet weapon and braced himself for the imminent attack.

Gasping with fatigue from the deadly race, Jax watched as the Gypceros walked slowly towards him in a cool manner, obviously confident that its prey has no where else to run to. Jax glanced behind and considered leaping over the ravine again, but his weakened legs plus the lack of running space gave him second thoughts.

"Damn!", Jax thought to himself. "There goes my brilliant plan."

At that moment, a great roar echoed from across the ravine, startling both Jax and the Gypceros. Whirling around to look behind him, Jax manage to catch a glimpse of something huge and golden leaped over the ravine. Ducking instinctively, Jax eyes followed the huge golden creature that flew over him. Just as the huge figure is above him, something bluish in color and small leaped off its back to land a few feet away to the right of Jax.

"Neela!!", Jax gasped in astonishment.

A great shriek of pain made Jax turn his attention back at the Gypceros. The golden creature had rammed headlong into it. Using its great maw, it bit deeply on the Gypceros neck while using its forelegs to maul at the body. The Gypceros shrieked in terror and shook viciously, breaking free for a moment. But the golden creature pounced again onto its back and dug its claws into the body, biting at the neck once again.

Noting the short stubby horns protruding from the head, the small wings attached to only the forearm, Jax could only look on in astonishment.

"Tigrex!", Jax breathe to himself in awe.

Several arrows that glowed with a faint white aura slammed into the Gypceros thigh and the creature shrieked louder in pain. Angered by the pain, the Gypceros dragged its body forward even with the full weight of the Tigrex bearing it down. With a start, Jax realized the Gypceros was heading for Neela.

Neela ignored the danger and continued pummeling the Gypceros with arrows. Seeing Neela in danger, the memory of Gron being poisoned by the creature, Jax felt his anger rise. Bracing his scythe to his side, Jax roared angrily and sprinted towards the Gypceros. With his scythe's curved blade behind him, Jax didn't see it start to glow a fiery red. Rain droplets falling on the bare sickle-blade hissed and turned into steam. Reaching the side of the Gypceros, Jax swung his blade at the neck.

The Gypceros head, with a look very much like surprise on it, flew off to land with a loud thud to the side of its body. Jax breathed heavily, a great deal of his strength drained by his weapon. The Tigrex roared triumphantly above the carcass of the Gypceros.

The rain continued to pour down mercilessly around them.

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End of Chapter 13

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	14. Chapter 14

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Author Notes :- Grammar edited by dethphnix (A.K.A Legend Striker).. Thank you dude.. you're the man..

Additional Notes :- Also, Please do vote up on what you think of my fanfic there by clicking on my Nick "Icowa", then click on the "Vote Now" button... thanz.

This fanfic is my property so any desire to post this up at your campus or any where else for the enjoyment of others, please do inform me first in this email ,there is a 99 chance I will not say NO.. ,..,

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Chapter 14

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The cavern was huge and dark. So dark that if a hundred torches were brought in to illuminate it, the ceiling would still remain shrouded in darkness. And out of that darkness, one could hear the sound of breathing made by huge lungs.

Then suddenly without warning, a pair of huge eyes, slightly slanted at the edges, opened to reveal a huge pupil with black slit-like irises. Sniffing the air as if some offending smell had suddenly permeated the air, the creature's eyes glowed a fierce red.

The rocky cavern shook when the creature got up angrily to its feet, making the stalactites and stalagmites to shiver in anticipation. Opening its huge fanged maw, it roared out angrily.

Within moments, the sound of flapping wings pierced the darkness, followed by the sound of huge feet finding its purchase on the rocky ground echoed through the cavern. Two pairs of eyes, dwarfed in size by the first pair, bowed before it in reverence and homage. And in great fear as well.

The great beast said only these words to them, "Find them!"

Bowing once more in acknowledgement, the two pairs of eyes blinked out and their owners shrieked loudly in an unearthly voice. In unison, the creatures flew out of the cavern, eager to carry out their orders.

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_Where am I?_, wondered Jax.

Looking around, he found himself in a huge barren cavern. Mist flowed thickly around his ankles and his vision seemed blurry as though the air was heavy with smoke. Raising his arms, he tried to feel around him but all he touched was the warm moist air. Afraid to move fearing that a mist-obscured chasm yawned right before him, Jax tried to calm himself down to think.

Just then, the mist seemed to part before him as he realized he was dreaming yet again. Before him was a deep chasm that stretched to both sides. And across it, his grandfather stood. Gone was the jolly smile, gone was the energetic man he knew from his past dreams. His grandfather seemed bent over, as though he was carrying something heavy upon his shoulders. The eyes shadowed with worry and fear, his grandfather stared at him mutely.

"Grandpa!?", Jax called out.

Shaking his head sadly, his grandfather turned to walk away. Panicked by the look on his grandfather's eyes, Jax took a step forward but stopped just short of the chasm's looming edge.

"GRANDPA!!"

Just as his grandfather faded into the darkness, a great roar reverberated from behind him and Jax instinctively crouched low and clapped his hands over his ears. The whole cavern shook violently and Jax peered behind him to see something massive trample towards him. Feeling warm blood trickle from his ears due to the deafening roar, Jax could only crouch where he was pitifully and watch the gargantuan monstrosity approach him.

Because of the smoky air and darkness in the cavern, Jax couldn't make out many details of the creature except for its huge glowing eyes. The creature stopped a few feet away and lowered its head to peer at Jax. Looking into the eyes in pure terror, Jax could see his image reflected eerily on its smooth surface. The huge eyes, as big as Jax is tall, peered for only a moment, then it widened in anger and disappointment.

Raising itself into its hind legs, the creature roared out once more in frustration.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"

Jax gritted his teeth as his ears began to hurt intensely and when he thought he could not bear it a moment longer, he heard a pop from both his ears. Blood spurted at his hands clapped over his ears and Jax withdrew his hand in shocked surprise. Suddenly everything was deathly silent as he stared at his blood soaked hands.

In dawning horror, Jax looked up to see the creature still roaring out its anger. And yet, Jax couldn't hear its scream. As he looked on, he saw the creature stomp down angrily on the cavern floor before it cracked and split apart. Huge pieces of it broke off and fell into the chasm, bringing Jax down along with the torrent of falling rocks.

Jax closed his eyes and screamed all the way down. But he couldn't hear his own scream.

"JAX!", a voice filled with love and worry called out to him. He opened his eyes and saw Neela looking at him, worry in her eyes showing as plainly as the fire light glinting on her blond hair.

His head hurt abominably and he couldn't move. He felt numb all over as though he had spent the whole afternoon trekking through snow without any clothing on and his blood had frozen solid in his veins.

"Where am I?", asked Jax wearily. As he asked this question, he looked up to see the strangely bright stars shining down on him from the night sky, framed by the towering leaves of massive oak trees. Neela didn't answer him but help him to lean up against a tree trunk.

Dizzied by the simple action of just sitting up, Jax took a moment for the ringing in his head to stop. And when it did, Jax looked up to see Neela regarding him in worry. And yet she did not answer him.

"I'm alright. I just feel a bit dizzy and all." Reaching out and grasping her hand, Jax gave her hand a gentle warm squeeze and Neela smiled softly at him.

Looking past her, Jax drew in his breath in amazement. Right behind Neela, slept the Tigrex. Noting the sharp claws and fangs that protruded from its half opened mouth, Jax could only stare at it for a few minutes in utter silence. With golden scales that glittered like newly minted gold, the Tigrex curled itself tightly while sleeping. Without knowing how he knew, Jax knew that this Tigrex was just an adolescent creature.

"Neela, where did you get that Tigrex?" Jax asked quietly. Glancing briefly around, Jax saw Narok and other hunters peering and poking at the dead Gypceros. Some of them occasionally glanced back at Neela and Jax with strange eyes. Their looks made Jax feel uncomfortable. Gron leaned against the same tree to his right, half naked and apparently still ill from the after-effects of the Gypceros's poisonous spit.

"Gron?", Jax spoke out loud before Neela could answer him. Gron turned his head around and grinned weakly at Jax.

"Cool, now we have a pet wyvern huh?", Gron spoke and at the same time, gave Jax a thumbs-up gesture.

Unable to appreciate the humor Gron showed at the moment, Jax turned his attention back at Neela. Neela blushed slightly and lowered her gaze to the ground. Jax caught his breath when he suddenly felt that Neela looked very vulnerable and sweet with that small action of hers. Coughing softly to himself to cover his feelings, Jax repeated his question to her.

"Is that what it is called? A Tigrex?" Neela asked, evading his question.

Jax nodded, "How did you come by it?", Jax tried again

"I didn't. Well, not really. Miki found it more than I did." Neela answered vaguely, clearly unwilling to go on with how she found the Tigrex. At the mention of Miki, Jax glanced back at the slumbering wyvern and noted Miki sleeping curled up on its head, clearly best of friends with each other.

Jax laid a gentle hand on Neela's arm again, "Please…."

Sighing softly, Neela explained the elder's orders, Miki innate ability to pinpoint the tigrex's position but she left out the part where she met that unknown robed figure, not wanting to worry Jax unnecessarily.

"And how did you get it to follow you back here? I have never read of any cases where wyverns were tamed by anyone"

"It was terribly injured when we found it. It must have stumbled into this trap some hunter must have set up." Neela replied softly.

Noting the missing scales and an ugly looking scar on the left flank of the tigrex, Jax could tell from the injury that the young Tigrex must have stumbled into a spike drop trap. A trap that some hunters use by hanging a spiked piece of log suspended between trees. Once any wyvern sets it off, the spiked log will swing down and severely injures the careless wyvern. And judging from it's injuries, he figured that the Tigrex was still quite new to the world thus it has been unable to avoid being badly hurt by the cunning trap.

"And you healed it." Jax commented softly, knowingly. Startled, Neela looked at him with wide opened eyes. "And I trust you did it without using potions." Neela blushed slightly and lowered her head once again.

"Damn, that's cool," Gron said while looking at Neela in admiration, "I bet that's what you did with that Gil guy too huh?"

Looking at the other campfire where the other hunters and miners are resting, Jax noticed most of them casting uncomfortable glances at their direction. _No wonder they are giving us those looks_, Jax thought to himself.

"I wanted to see whether it works on humans too." Neela mumbled softly, "Besides, Gil looks terribly ill and Jenna is running out of sleep serums so I thought I'll give it a try and see whether I can help."

Looking at Neela's pale lips, Jax guessed that her healing ability was not without a price. Even as he watched, he saw Neela tremble a little in fatigue. Reaching out gently, Jax pulled her toward him and had her head rest on his chest.

"Let's call it a night for now guys. I guess we will start moving again once the sun rises so let's get enough rest for tomorrow." Jax said. A soft snore answered him and he turned his head to see Gron already fast asleep. A ghost of a smile flickered across Jax's lip. "Alright, Neela?"

He felt her nod her head and he closed his eyes. Within minutes, his gentle snoring accompanied the ones made by Gron. Only Neela remained awake, resting on Jax chest. She found it hard to sleep.

Because whenever she closed her eyes, she would recall the moment right after Jax sliced off the Gypceros's head. Running up to Jax, she had found him staggering and panting heavily as though from severe exhaustion. After quickly lifting Jax's arms around her shoulders to prevent him from collapsing, Jax had lifted his head weakly and stared at her as if he didn't recognized her.

She was deeply shocked then. For when she looked into Jax eyes, they were a bright red in color.

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End of Chapter 14

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	15. Chapter 15

Author Notes :- Grammar edited by "Pocket Lord Sephirjon" -- Your help is deeply appreciated.  
StandBy Grammar Editor "dethphnix (A.K.A Legend Striker)" -- Dude,hope you are doing ok.  
And of course, to all the ppl who loved and support my fanfic..

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Chapter 15

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It was early in the morning when Jax and his team were awakened by the sound of rumbling wheels on the hard rock of the ground. Gron and Jax felt immeasurably better after their sleep. Surprisingly, the only one who still seemed weakened was Neela.

Trying not to wake her, Jax gently moved her to lie sleeping on the soft grasses and went over to the edge of the ravine. All the while he was very aware of the lumbering Tigrex, eyeing his every move with a menacing look in its eyes.

"Makes me feel like I'm breakfast. It's breakfast to be exact." Jax mumbled softly to Gron.

As Jax moved towards the ravine, the Tigrex slowly moved over and hovered over Neela, guarding her in her sleep. Ignoring this strange behavior, Jax and Gron went and joined Narok near the edge of the ravine.

Narok was shouting to the other side of the ravine, ignoring Jax and Gron as they approached him. Seeing Nemesis on the other side, Jax could see half a dozen men working feverishly in the background cutting down trees. Narok's team of hunters was also busy chopping trees down on this side.

"What are they doing?" Gron asked in confusion.

"Making a bridge for us to cross the ravine. Unless you wanna give it another go at long jumping across the ravine." Jax teased.

Scowling in mock ferocity, Gron nonetheless gave a grin afterwards. "That's one piece of work you did on the big turkey over there." Gron jerked a thumb to the rear.

"Mmmmm." Jax mumbled to himself, and his eyebrows creased in thought. Jax remembered seeing the Tigrex leaping across the ravine and assaulting the Gypceros, but everything after that was a blur. Trying to recall what had happened would only make his head ache, so he decided to let the matter rest for now and get the miners back to Pokke village safely first.

It took both Nemesis and Narok's team a few hours of work to finally get a crude wooden bridge across the ravine. Lashing a few tree trunks together to form a crude pivot point to throw ropes over, the ropes were then tossed to the other side so Nemesis and his team could tie the ropes onto the long tree trunks they had been working on. Then, with Jax and Gron helping, Narok and his team of hunters, as well as some miners, began hauling the tree trunks slowly towards them, then lowered them across the wide ravine.

Once several logs were laid parallel to each other across the ravine, several hunters began to inch slowly onto the crude bridge and lash them together so they wouldn't move apart when the Popo's caravan rolled over them. It may have been crude, but it served its purpose well as a means for Jax and the others to cross the ravine.

"Come on, Gron. Let's go wake Neela and be on our way. I want to get some hot breakfast and hit the sack again. Feels like I'm going to fall apart or something." Grinning, Jax was still talking to Gron when a loud roar interrupted him in mid-sentence.

Whipping his weapon out instantaneously, Jax braced himself as he looked in the direction of the roar. He was also dimly aware that all the hunters, from Narok's team to Nemesis' on the other side of the ravine, had their weapons out and ready to defend against an attack.

The Tigrex stood up as if from the highest of alert status. It braced it's forelegs far apart as its body hovered above the awakened Neela. Hackles of golden scales could be seen standing up at its neck. Before everyone's shocked and astonished eyes, the stubby looking wings spread apart at its forelegs and bulging red veins could be seen glowing fiercely in red. Revealing its lethal sharp fangs, the Tigrex roared out once more in warning.

Everyone froze where they were, afraid to move. Everyone had seen the ghastly wounds inflicted by the Tigrex on the dead Gypceros. No one was willing to find out what it could do to them.

Shocked awake by the horrific roar, Neela swiftly got to her feet and laid her hands on the Tigrex's neck. Whispering softly to it, Neela spent several tense minutes trying to calm down the enraged wyvern.

"Down, Tiger, down," Neela whispered soothingly to it. Turning to look at Jax, Neela mouthed silently to him and, together with her hand gestures, signaled to him to put away his weapons. Moving slowly, Jax sheathed back his scythe and kept his hands in plain sight for the wyvern to see.

The Tigrex eyed Jax viciously. After a few tense moments, Neela's whispering plea finally got through and the Tigrex calmed down enough to furl up its wings. Giving Jax another soft but vicious snarl, the Tigrex sat down on its haunches and lowered its head to Neela. Neela continued to stroke his head gently. "Good boy. That's a good boy."

"I don't think it likes you, Jax," Gron got closer and whispered to him.

"No kidding," Jax mumbled in slight confusion.

Not wanting to get close and agitate the wyvern further, Jax turned around and saw Narok arguing vehemently with Nemesis who had crossed the bridge soon after the Tigrex calmed down. Guessing what the argument was all about, Jax ran over to them.

"Do you expect that thing to come back with us to the village, Nemesis? Are you mad?" Narok hissed vehemently.

"Watch your tongue, warrior. It is as the Elder has ordered and it shall be done. No more blasphemy from you, is that clear?" Narok understood and choked down his frustration with difficulty.

Hearing Jax and Gron approaching, both men quieted and turned to stare at him in a not too friendly manner. "Yes Jax, what is it?" Nemesis asked.

"I think it is reacting that way due to my presence, sir. As long as I'm not close to it, it should be reasonably tame enough that it won't cause any inconvenience to the caravan," Jax explained as Nemesis's eyebrows rose skeptically.

"Just watch. Gron, get over close to Neela and ask her to come here, will you?" Jax said. Gron gave him an aghast look. "Trust me, Gron."

Not wanting to make a show of reluctance in front of the other two higher ranking hunters and shame Jax further, Gron did as he was told. Jax stayed behind with Nemesis and Narok, all eyes turned to watch the Tigrex's reaction. Gron approached cautiously, but all the Tigrex did was gave him a brief glance before it turned its eyes back to Jax. Nemesis noted this in his mind, intending to report this curious matter to the Elder.

Breathing easier, Gron quickly relayed Jax's orders to Neela. Giving the Tigrex another pat on the head, Neela instructed Miki to stay behind with it. Running over, Neela halted beside Jax.

"Neela, any idea why it is reacting this way to me?" Jax asked.

"I-I'm sorry," Neela stammered and made a show of looking at the other hunters getting back to securing the bridge, "it's still young and doesn't seem to communicate well with me at the moment."

Jax eyebrows quirked a little. He knew Neela was telling the truth, but he also knew that she was not telling the 'whole' truth. Apparently she was hiding something from him. Deciding to leave it be for now and question her later on this in private, Jax shrugged.

"Ok, I guess you better have it…" Jax began.

"Tiger," Neela cut in.

"What?"

"I'm calling it Tiger." Neela answered.

"Mmm, ok, you better have Tiger follow the caravan from the rear. Since it seems to have something against me coming near it, I'll be at the front. Ok, Sir?" Jax directed this at Nemesis.

Giving a curt nod of his head, Nemesis turned around and headed back to direct the task of completing the bridge. Narok fumed in silence and, after giving Jax a venomous look, headed back to his own team.

Sighing softly to himself, Jax turned to Neela. "Go ahead, Neela. Help Gron gather our gear and prepare to head out once the bridge is done." Nodding, Neela jogged back to Gron. Looking up, Jax found Tiger looking at him still. And within its eyes lay a hidden promise.

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Both Tylor and the Elder stood watching the snowy mountains in silence. Neither had slept at all throughout the night. Both could still feel the shocked surprise at what had happened yesterday late afternoon.

For the first time, the Elder questioned herself in regards to her decision to send Jax and Gron alone to aid the miner's team. Everything had been fine at first. She could sense Neela completing her task and clearly felt her pushing herself and her new "help" towards Jax and the others. True, she had disobeyed orders to return to the village as soon as her task was done, but the Elder found herself glad that Neela had decided to go to the aid of her teammates instead. Especially since the Elder sensed the death of several hunters guarding the miners.

Then came the moment when she felt Gron's life essence ebb dangerously low. Agitated, she had immediately issued orders to Nemesis to head to the battle site at once. Originally sitting cross legged with his back leaning against the Sacred Rock, Tylor had immediately gotten up as well and prepared his equipment, a creased eyebrow the only indication of his worry.

Just when Nemesis was ready and about to depart, they found the Elder staring in the direction of the forest, eyes wide and mouth agape with beads of cold sweat on her forehead. Even Tylor seemed taken aback, his eyes also drawn towards the forests. For the life of him, Nemesis couldn't tell what had so shocked the both of them.

What surprised Nemesis next was when the Elder, after recovering from her initial shock, issued new commands for him. He was to take with him two teams and a Popo caravan for the transport of dead or unconscious wyverns. Nemesis had objected respectfully, claiming that the additional burden would slow them down, and that it wouldn't be till sunrise that they would reach their destination, arriving too late to save anyone.

"No one needs saving anymore, Nemesis," the Elder had said quietly, her eyes still drawn to that direction. Nemesis did not understand but kept quiet out of respect for the elderly woman. After giving a brief warning and instructions to Nemesis in regards to Neela's new "helper", Nemesis was sent on his way. Expecting Tylor to follow, he was annoyed to find him standing beside the Elder.

And throughout the whole night till now, both Tylor and the Elder stood at the same spot, never moving, never speaking. Just then, both spied the caravan coming up the sharp incline leading to Pokke Village. Quickly glancing to the rear of the caravan, Tylor gave a soft low whistle. Even the Elder looked impressed.

Neela rode on top of the lumbering Tigrex, patting it now and then as if trying to calm it down. There was a wide gap between the caravan up and with the huge wyvern. However, when it approached the front gates of Pokke Village, the wyvern hesitated and stopped for a while, its eyes on the archers stationed on the village walls. Tylor watched quietly as Neela bent over, apparently whispering to it. Then, with great reluctance, the Wyvern cautiously stepped through the gates, giving an expression very much like that of an immature acrobat facing a hostile audience.

The archers kept their hands tight on their bows but held their stance, their eyes wide at the unusual sight of the huge mystical creature in their midst. Within the village, villagers peeked slowly out of their houses and children squealed in delight at the unusual sight.

After directing the caravan bearing the dead corpse of the Gypceros, Nemesis immediately led Jax and his team to the Elder, the Tigrex following slowly a few paces back. Upon reaching the Elder, Jax was disconcerted to find the Elder staring at him with a strange look in her eye. Neither hostile nor appraising, the look seemed strangely devoid of emotion. Jax began to sweat under his armor despite the cold weather.

Giving one final pat and whisper to Tiger, Neela walked up to stand beside Jax. Several children broke loose from their parents and approach the silent wyvern. The Elder noted with amusement that the wyvern seemed more afraid of the children than the other way round. Reaching out their small hands, they reached out to touch Tiger's head and the huge wyvern seemed to cringe a little.

Just when everybody was gathered, plus a few brave villagers who came to gawk at Tiger, Narok pushed his way angrily past Jax and saluted the Elder.

"Elder, I want to report Jax and his teammate for endangering me and my men," Narok said harshly.

Shocked, Jax and Gron both stared at Narok. The Elder only quirked her eye brows at this statement. Gron turned bright red in his face and clenched his fist tightly in anger. Just as he was about to step forward and say something in return, the Elder spoke.

"How many men did you lose?"

"Elder!" Narok began but stuttered when the Elder continued to eyed him with a fierce glint in her eyes. "Three men. Hendrik, Josh and Erik," Narok said with his head bowed.

"And did you lose them after Jax came to your aid?"

Narok stammered for a while, his face turning a bright red. "He disobeyed my orders!" Narok said angrily and pointed an accusing finger back at Jax. Jax had to physically hold back Gron as he prepared to leap forward and clobber Narok.

"Is this true, Jax?" the Elder queried.

"Yes Ma'am. I didn't have much of a choice at that moment. Gron was poisoned and the Gypceros kept coming back at us. So I had to draw it away from Narok so he could help Gron," Jax replied.

"It seems to me that he disobeyed your orders for a logical reason," Elder said calmly.

"How can you trust them, Elder? Look at them, they even brought back that dangerous beast with them. Just this morning, that 'thing' was about to leap out and attack us on the spot," Narok gestured angrily back at Tiger.

Just then, squeals of laughter interrupted them and everybody in attendance turned around. The children, ignoring the serious discussion going on between the hunters, were happily playing with Tiger. Tiger had rolled on its back, all four massive clawed paws up in the air. The children crawled on top of its belly, scratching it and sliding down by the sides on the smooth slippery scales. Tiger murmured with satisfaction as several children stood by its head, scratching at its throat. The tip of its tail wagged happily.

Narok lost his composure and slowly lowered his hand.

"Anything else you might want to add, Narok?" Elder asked.

Narok muttered something under his breath, too soft for anyone to hear. The Elder drew in a breath in impatience. "I don't trust them," Narok muttered again.

"And why is that so?"

"The girl. She healed Gil," Narok said and looked at Nemesis apologetically. Gil was Nemesis' young nephew. Nemesis' face remained stony. Murmurs rippled among the villagers gathered at hearing this and most turned to stare at Neela. Looking at her like she had grown horns on her head, Neela felt uncomfortable and moved closer to Jax, unconsciously grasping his hand tightly. Tylor noted this in silence.

Wordlessly, the Elder reached behind her and drew out a magnificent short sword from under her shirt. Fifteen inches long, the sword's numerous jeweled stones on its body sparkled brilliantly in the afternoon sun. Silver in color, the sharp edges looks tinted with emerald green.

Before anyone could figure out what she intended to do, she drew it across her wrist and slashed deeply. Blood burst out in great spurts and the collective sound of shocked gasps could be heard rippling through the assembled villagers and hunters.

"Elder!" Narok gasped in extreme shock.

Ignoring them all, the Elder dug her sword deeply into the snow and laid her right hand across her injured arm. Closing her eyes, she concentrated her energy on an ability she had not had the opportunity to use since her last wyvern battle. Before everyone's astonished eyes, the wound slowly closed and healed completely. Only the bloodstains left on her arm indicated that she was previously wounded.

Holding her hand up for everyone to get a good look at, the Elder looked directly at Narok and everyone present could see the seasoned hunter sweat profusely in the cold air. "Anything else that you might want to add?" Elder asked pointedly.

Lowering his head in shame, Narok shook his head.

"Good, everyone back to their work. Narok, Jax! You and your teams get as much rest as you can and report to me tomorrow morning for further instructions. Is that clear?" The Elder said in a surprisingly baritone voice.

The crowd scattered to their various tasks, leaving the children behind to play with gleeful wyvern. Narok walked past Jax and the others with his head lowered, not looking at anyone out of anger and shame. Wordlessly, Jax nodded mutely at Elder and then walked away.

Watching him walk away, the Elder motioned to Nemesis.

"I need to talk to Gil."

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End of Chapter 15

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	16. Chapter 16

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Chapter 16

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Despite his earlier desire to rest his aching body, Jax found himself staring at the ceiling with wide eyes. Finally giving up the idea to sleep, he got out of bed and quietly walks out into the night, wanting to breathe some cool fresh air.

With his Monoblos scythe perched securely to his back, Jax quietly closed his front door only to be greeted with a soft snarl. Turning slowly, Jax tried hard not to make any sudden movements as he watch Tiger raise its head to look at him viciously.

Accustomed to the cold winter night, the huge wyvern slept curled up right outside his house. Moving slowly, Jax started to walk slowly pass the alert Tigrex when he noticed a little girl sleeping on a thick wool blanket under one of the wyvern's bulky arms.

Just as he was about to peer closely as to who this little girl is, a hand tapped him on his shoulder.

"Dan? You startled me." Jax said.

Dan peered up at Jax. "I'm sorry." Pointing a finger at the sleeping girl, Dan continued, "I'm watching over Melissa."

"Melissa?" Jax glance back at the little girl.

A local villager unlike Jax, Melissa is a poor unfortunate little child. Having lost her mother during her birth, she later on lost her father in a house fire when she was only four years old. Her father had perished in the fire while Melissa barely made it out alive herself.

Jax and Gron had been about to go on a hunt that very day when they heard the alarm and rushed to the scene of the fire. The local militia had immediately formed a line to pass water buckets in an effort to quench the fire when Jax and Gron heard a cry from within the burning house.

Ignoring the danger, Jax and Gron had wasted no time and immediately dashed into the house after drenching themselves wet. Her father had been pinned under a burning ceiling beam and Melissa under her father. Gron, already a strapping specimen then, had lifted the heavy beam with ease while Jax carried both the father and Melissa to safety.

Sadly, her father had passed away on the spot while Melissa's left leg had been badly crushed. Having it amputated in an effort to prevent infection, Melissa was never the same ever since that day. Always quiet and melancholy, she didn't have any friends and one would normally see her sitting by herself on a bench right outside of her grandfather's home, staring into nothing.

Her grandfather Dan, had tried everything in his power to lighten up the little girls sad life but to no avail. That is until Tiger came into the village.

Jax recalled Melissa approaching Tiger with a look of awe on her face, her weak steps guided by her grandfather. And when the Elder had dispersed the hunter's gathering, Jax remembered seeing Melissa laugh merrily while playing with Tiger along with the other children.

As if sharing these same thoughts with Jax, Dan watched his sleeping grandchild with a gentle smile on his face. "I've never seen her so happy ever since that incident so I am loathe to bring her back home."

"I understand." Jax said quietly. Hearing the old man cough softly, Jax added, "Why don't you head on home? I will watch over her until morning."

"Thank you, young man." Dan said gratefully and patted Jax on his arm.

Watching Dan walked off for a few minutes, Jax turned back to find Tigrex looking at him still. Contemplating his options for a while, Jax considered crouching low and extending a hand to Tiger and see whether he can get it to sniff his hand. At least he thinks it works with dogs.

"Oh what the heck…" Jax breathed to himself and started to crouch down.

"Ahem."

Straightening up hastily and spinning around, Jax flushed a deep red as Tylor stood behind him. _Startled_ _two times in one night_, Jax thought to himself, _I must be getting old_.

"What happened back there, Jax?" Tylor asked bluntly.

Sighing to himself softly, Jax was not at all surprise to find Tylor going straight to the point so swiftly. Rubbing his temples to ease the headache he can feel building inside, Jax replied, "I think we've explain most of the details already this afternoon, Tylor"

"I'm not talking about your mission. I'm asking about the moment when you killed the Gypceros. What happened there?"

"I don't remember. I guess the Gypceros knocked me out." Jax chuckled to himself nervously.

"It knocked you out after you 'sliced' its head off?"

"Yea." Jax said, chuckling still.

But his chuckle stopped cold when Tylor continued to regard him stonily. After a few minutes of tense staring, Tylor reached up behind him and gripped his sword. Eyes wide, Jax instinctively whipped out his sword scythe just in time to block Tylor's downward swing.

Grunting from the impact, Jax could see Tylor's massive great sword notch his weapons shaft. But before he could even shout in annoyance at this, Tylor gave a strong push against Jax's defense and cause him to leap back in order not to lose his balance.

Before he even landed properly, Tylor spun in a circle and swung his great sword horizontally, aiming for Jax's mid section. Holding his own weapon vertically to his side, Jax blocked the swing but felt the force of the blow vibrate all the way up to his shoulder.

Tylor continued his attack viciously, giving Jax no quarters except to defend against his powerful swings. Despite the heavy weapon, Tylor handled it with skill and ease, leaving no openings at all for Jax to strike back through. Lights from neighboring homes flared up as heads poke out of windows to see what all the noise is about in the dead of the night.

"God….," Jax blocked a swing yet again, "..dammit.."

"TYLOR!..," block, block, dodge, ".. are you…," duck, block, "… trying… ," dive roll, ".. to kill…."

Without a chance to complete what he was going to say, Jax felt Tylor whipped his great sword to the side, causing Jax's weapon to swing out of control to the right and leaving him exposed. Planting a strong kick to the gut, Tylor send Jax flying backwards to slam into a tree that grew at the side of the house.

"And how are you suppose to protect my sister with that pathetic skill of yours, huh Jax? How? You shame your grandfather's name" Tylor spoke roughly, not even half winded from his exertions.

With a roar of outrage, Jax got back on his feet and leaped at Tylor. Still high in the air, Jax braced both his hands on his weapon, ready to swing it down with all his strength.

"NO I WILL NOT!!" Jax screamed in a rage and brought his weapon down.

Holding his own weapon high above his head, Tylor blocked Jax's attack with only one hand. Reaching from under the weapons, Tylor grabbed the hilt just slightly above Jax's hands. Locked into each other viciously, a brief staredown issued.

Looking into his Jax's eyes, Tylor's own eyes widened. Mere inches from each others face, Tylor could see the outer rim of Jax's pupil surrounded by a ring of reddish light. Astonished at this, Tylor gritted his teeth as Jax slowly pushed down his blade further with amazing strength.

_You were right, Sensei Evan._ Tylor thought to himself.

"Look at your blade, Jax." Tylor said out loud. But Jax didn't seem to hear him. He seemed lost inside his mind with a fierce look of determination on his face.

"LOOK AT IT!!" Tylor roared again.

As though shaken awake, Jax turned his gaze to his sickle-like blade of his weapon. A shock gasp escaped his lips as he noted the glowing red blade. Upon the realization, Tylor could see the red light fade from both Jax's eyes and the weapon blade. And with the faded light, Jax's hands went limp and slide off from gripping his weapon.

Stepping to the side while holding on to both his own weapon and Jax's, Tylor watched silently as Jax slumped wearily down on his knees and then rolled flat on his back on the soft snow ground, gasping heavily for air.

Crouching down beside him, Tylor laid the Monoblos Scythe beside Jax and then looked at Jax in the eyes. Tylor could see the knowledge dawn in the weary eyes.

"Now you understand," Tylor smiled his rare smile. "And this time you didn't faint at least."

Still breathing heavily, Jax rolled onto his side and laid his weak hands on his weapon, feeling the numerous notches scored by Tylor's attacks. "My weapon…," Jax spoke with soft tears blurring his vision.

Giving him a soft pat on the shoulder, Tylor explained. "Don't worry about it. There is a reason why our people preferred to use wyvern materials for our weapon making. Kept close to its owners, the weapons and armors have a habit of 'mending' themselves. But I guess you will see for yourself by tomorrow."

Standing up, Tylor walked away. But after a few feet, Tylor stopped when he heard Jax spoke softly.

"I will protect Neela with my life, whatever the cost. I swear my soul over this."

Watching Jax slowly propped himself sitting upright wearily, Tylor nodded to himself in satisfaction and started to turn away. But then he stopped again. Raising his eyes to stare at the starlit night sky, Tylor pondered for a few moments.

"When Neela was a year old," Tylor began and Jax raised his head a little, "my father approached your grandfather with a proposal. He wanted to betrothed my baby sister with you."

A shocked silence ensued.

"And what did my grandfather say to that?" Jax asked softly.

"Your grandfather refused. He wanted the decision to be left at the proper hands. But I believe the decision is pretty much obvious now, don't you think so." And with that, Tylor walked away into the deepening night.

Jax continued sitting at the same spot for half an hour more. Not because he didn't want to move, but because he can't seem to get his legs to obey him anymore. Adding to that, the news that he is betrothed to Neela caused his mind to reel around still.

_So much for only wanting to breathe fresh air_, Jax laughed silently to himself.

Then suddenly with loud food steps, the Tigrex walked and stood toweringly over Jax. Alarmed, Jax could only look up in mute helplessness, certain that the Tigrex is going to devoured him on the spot.

Tiger lowered his head and fastened its teeth on the back collar of his undershirt. Lifting him off his feet the way a female dog lifts her puppy by the scruff of the neck, Tiger carried him over to little Melissa and plopped him down gently. Lying down beside them, the Tigrex positioned its left arm so that its wings hovered above them like a canvas tent.

Resting its head so that its left eye can look at them, Jax looked up at it in the eye and felt that for some reason, the barrier between him and the huge wyvern is broken down, though he know not how that happened. Feeling that he had at least one problem solved tonight, Jax tugged the blanket warmly around Melissa and drifted off into sleep himself soon after.

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Walking back to the Sacred stone, Tylor stood once again beside the Elder.

"Is it as we feared?" The Elder asked without turning her gaze away from the distant snowy mountains.

Tylor didn't answer.

Instead, he drew his great sword and inspected the spot where the shaft of Jax's weapon had clashed with his for the final time this night. On the razor sharp edge, several deep cracks radiated from the area of impact.

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End of Chapter 16

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	17. Chapter 17

well... no news from grammar editors in regards to my fanfic. So i guess I'll just post mine till i get the edited version from them. I've gone through my chapter again to correct as much mistakes as I could by myself but I have a feeling it still needs a lot of correcting..  
all in all, i hope all of you will enjoy it and once again, i apologize for the damn slowness of me pumping out the chapters.. So enjoy..

and you can PM me if you feel inclined to show me my mistakes and I'll edit it with due credit to you.. (my email :- )

enjoy..

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Chapter 17  
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4 days after Jax's return with the Tigrex Wyvern

Nemesis scooped up a handful of sand and watched silently as it drifts down in between his fingers. For all his life experience, he had never felt the way he is feeling now. Lifting his head, Nemesis watched with a pinch of curiosity as Tylor knelt at the center the Melynx village, the village where little Miki once called its home.

According to the Melynx Elder that Tylor and Jax's team had rescued, the village is a modest one with a maximum population of around a hundred or so Melynx. Build at one side of a huge 'V' shaped canyon in the deserts, it might once have been a wonder to outsiders.

Now, all the onion shaped sandstone houses the simple creatures had created as their dwellings lay scattered all over the place. And along with the scattered housing materials, lay the half buried skeletal remains of Melynx warriors and villagers alike. Closing his fingers into a tight fist in anger, Nemesis pictured in his mind some huge creature rampaging in the village while Melynx warriors rushed in to drive it away unsuccessfully.

Looking at the deep scratch marks that stretched all over the canyon wall surfaces, Nemesis estimated that whatever attacked the village is huge. Possibly even bigger than the Cephadrome he bagged when all these creatures started appearing and wrecking havoc across the lands.

Flinging the sand from his hands and dusting it on his armored leggings, Nemesis walked over to where Tylor remained kneeling. Not a patient man in nature, he was surprised to find himself waiting respectfully and in silence while Tylor knelt there for almost half an hour, apparently praying for the souls of the departed Melynx in the village.

Diverting his attention to study the damage that has been wrought in the small village, Nemesis found himself wondering why the Elder had assigned this task to him and Tylor alone. Originally, he had requested that Jax and his team be allowed to accompany him in this. Especially since at the moment, they are the only ones most experienced in dealing with wyverns ever since all this mess began.

But the Elder had refused and made it very clear that she has a more important task in mind for them. She surprised him further when she made it known that Tylor would be accompanying him instead. What's worse is that this mission will be a two man team only.

They have been hunting for days now looking for the creature that decimated the Melynx village. And throughout the entire time, neither of them spoke a single word to each other. Whenever one of them wants to scout out a different area, he would point and the other would nod his head and follow.

All they met is Cephalos swimming around looking for food. These they avoid, not wanting to expend any energy that they will surely need against the Black Diablos. After three days of fruitless searching, both of them decided to check the village for possible clues. Something that both man tried to avoid doing in the first place for obvious reasons.

Hearing a scrawny squeeking sound, Nemesis, reached behind and gripped his Gunlance firmly. Perched on top of a dry and desiccated tree, a dog-sized Remobra stared at the two men hungrily.

"Blasted beast" Nemesis muttered in disgust, hating the way the creature looked at him like he would looked at barbecued bacon at this moment.

Related to wyverns, Remobras looked like a fat snake that has a pair of legs as well as wings. About the size of large dogs, Remobras are mostly found in the volcanic regions but lately, they are spotted roaming the desert more frequently, scavenging for food. With colors ranging from dark red to jet black in color, it was popularly believed that armors made from its leathery hide greatly improves reflexes and stamina.

Getting annoyed at the creature eyeing him, Nemesis whips his gunlance out and flips a knobby switch near the handle. With a loud clank, his gunlance unfolded and locked into position. Screeching in alarm, the remobra flew off and headed southwest.

Nemesis was just grinning to himself at this when he spotted several remobras flying around in lazy circles far to the southwest. Changing his Gunlance into standby mode again and latching it onto its holder on his back, Nemesis smack Tylor softly on his shoulder and pointed at the flock of remobras.

Spotting them instantly, Tylor stood up wordlessly and headed in that direction with Nemesis hot on his heels. When they reached the site, Nemesis was both amazed and shocked.

They have stumbled upon the body of a dead Monoblos. Lying on its left side, the mangled body looked like a mockery to its former glory. Multiple holes gaped disgustingly all over its right flank. Its wings appeared to be trampled on and broken in several parts.

Walking up to it calmly, Tylor grunted something to himself as an annoyed Remobra screeched and flew off from inside one of the bloody holes, apparently interrupted in the middle of its lunch.

"Hmmph"

"Hmmph what?" Nemesis looked at Tylor.

"I think this is the Monoblos that attacked Jax's team"

"What makes you so sure about that?"

Tylor chuckled softly to himself as he noted the deep gash that slashed all the way across its right face, its pus-filled blind eye and the severed horn. Though it has only been roughly one or two weeks since Tylor chopped off the horn, a sprig of a little horn had begun to grow back to replace the old. Unfortunately, it didn't grow fast enough to save its owner.

"Trust me, I know"

Just as those words left his mouth, he suddenly felt the shifting of sands beneath his feet. Trusting in his instinct, Tylor immediately ran away from the corpse and headed towards Nemesis.

Feeling the same vibrations, Nemesis stood where he was and readied his Gunlance with a loud clank. Tylor stopped beside Nemesis and readied his own weapon, facing the Monoblos corpse.

"I thought the thing is dead?" Nemesis hissed.

Tylor kept silent as he watched the sand to the left of the Monoblos head began to bulge noisily. Nemesis braced his shield high as he peeked through the eye slots drilled through his shield. He had this special modifications made to his shield so that so he can peer through them to the front while bracing his shield before himself.

A massive claw emerged from the bulging sands and soon, another claw followed and then lastly, the huge body of the creature rose from the sands. With a hard outer exoskeleton, it was a pinkish white in color plus a multitude of red stripes. A slightly elongated bulb of an abdomen wobbled behind it. Two suspiciously small eyes perched on skinny stalks swiveled around to stare at the two tall men.

Looking like those little hermit crabs that can be found wandering the rocks near the seashore, Nemesis was forced to temporary stare at the creature in awe.

Making clicking noises to itself in alarm, it clacked its massive pair of claws at the two men menacingly.

Nemesis heard Tylor mumble 'Hermitaur' to himself. He turned his head in time to see the dangerous man smile thinly to himself, as if he is relinquishing the idea of a tasty meal. "Crazy bastard", Nemesis thought to himself and turned his attention back at the creature.

"Don't do anything, just be on your guard but don't attack it. Not yet" Tylor said to Nemesis. Nemesis grunted in reply. He needed to conserve his energy for the Black Diablos.

After a few minutes of brief stare down, the Hermitaur lowered its claws slightly and began to sidle sideways towards the Monoblos corpse. Keeping one eye focused on the two men, the other eye swiveled independently towards the dead wyvern.

Before Nemesis's astonished eyes, the Hermitaur began to snip and slice through the neck of dead wyvern with its claws. Every once in a while, it would stop, grip and make a strong tug at the bony mane of the Monoblos. The huge head would wobble and shake but when it seemed immovable, the Hermitaur would continue cutting through the sinuous neck muscles.

"What the hell is it trying to do?" Nemesis hissed softly at Tylor, all the while keeping his eyes locked on the desert crab.

"Isn't it obvious? It's trying to rip the head off, eat the brain and other delicate flesh; then wear it over its vulnerable abdomen. Let's wait a while longer for it to get really absorbed in its task. It's best we try and sneak away when that happens"

Nemesis nodded his head without looking at Tylor, not particularly caring whether Tylor sees him nodding his head or not. The idea of sneaking away like a coward made his stomach curl. But there isn't much choice in this matter however so he decided to get it done and over with as soon as possible.

But before anyone of them had a chance to do anything, a great big roar echoed across the desert. Swiveling both eyes to stare behind it, the Hermitaur clacked its claws nervously once and begun to burrow into the shifting sands underneath it.

Before Nemesis could comprehend what just happened, he swore to himself loudly when he caught a flash of Tylor from the corner of his eyes. The tall man had sheathed his Great Sword and is bounding off towards the roar.

Hastily switching his Gunlance into standby mode, Nemesis ran after Tylor. Far off in the distance, they could see something large rushing across the terrain, causing sand to burst explosively with each stomp it made. Nemesis stopped short in shock. Even at this distance, he could see that the creature is huge, the biggest wyvern he have ever laid eyes on in this life time, bigger than he had expected.

Cursing himself loudly, Nemesis ran forward again when he saw Tylor still charging fearlessly towards the wyvern. As they got closer and closer, Nemesis could clearly see the creature chasing ripples that flowed through the desert sands. Puzzled, Nemesis stopped beside Tylor, a good thirty to forty feet away from the rampaging creature.

As they watched in silence, the Black Diablos rushed with remarkable speed and suddenly stabbed its dual curved horns into the sands. There was an audible sharp shriek of pain as the Diablos pushed its horns deeper into the sand. Its neck muscles barely straining from the effort, it dragged its huge horns out of the sand viciously and both men could see the trashing Cephalos impaled on one of its horns.

Reaching into his backpack absentmindedly, Tylor retrieved something out. "I suggest you brace yourself", Tylor spoke without warning and flung something at the Diablos. Even with this distance, Tylor's strong arm sent the object to soar high into the air and arc back down to smack the Diablos soundly on its head.

"Bloody HELL!", Nemesis screamed at Tylor but readied his Gunlance nonetheless. A strategic man, Nemesis always considered it a better option to form a reasonable plan before each battle he wades into. The huge Wyvern, plus the lack of any plans coming into his mind at the moment, sent a shiver of fear to ripple through his soul.

As the object bounced off the wyverns head, it then exploded with a deafeningly sharp and shrill sound. The wyvern, apparently sensitive to loud sounds, shook its head angrily as the limp corpse of the Cephalos slides wetly off its horn. The object, a sonic bomb, did just what Tylor hoped it would do, it attracted its attention.

Both men braced their defenses immediately as the wyvern gave an angry roar and charge at them; one with his shield, the other with the flat of his great sword braced in front of him. Covering the distance with remarkable speed, the horns stabbed and caused sparks to fly. Carried forward by the sheer momentum of its running charge, each horn pushed against each man, causing their legs to drag a long furrow through the soft desert sands.

Grunting with the strain of bracing the shield against the charge, Nemesis was overwhelmed with awe at the sheer brute strength of the wyvern. His legs having sunk all the way to the shins as his legs dragged backwards, Nemesis is at a lost as to what to do now. With the wyvern pressing against his shield, there is no way he could take the time to pull himself free without leaving himself open to an attack.

Sparing a glance at Tylor, he is somewhat grimly amused to see the tall man struggling to brace his sword with some difficulty as well. Then all of a sudden, Tylor twisted his blade to the side. The movement sent the horn to scratch a deep line on the big weapon as Tylor slipped in from the side. Left alone to brace against the powerful push, Nemesis grunted.

Duck rolling forward, Tylor swung his sword as soon as he got back on his legs. Sweeping horizontally, his blade struck a glancing blow and then rebounded from the muscled thigh of the wyvern. Though his weapon rebounded, Tylor was grimly satisfied to see a thin trickle of blood flow from the wound.

Shifting its attention away Nemesis, the Black Diablos swung its huge knobby tail down at Tylor from the left. Duck rolling forward one more time towards the wyvern legs, Tylor narrowly missed being crushed to death as the tail bashed deeply into the desert sands. The wyvern then dragged its tail out of the sands and turned around to face Tylor.

Having the horns off him, Nemesis gratefully drags his legs out of the sand and starts to edge forward. Being a heavy and unwieldy weapon, Nemesis is unable to charge with his Gunlance pointed straight in front of him like he can with a lance. Stabbing upwards diagonally at the tail, Nemesis scored a few accurate hits and inflicted several deep wounds.

Roaring in anger, the Black Diablos reared up its tail high up into the air to the left side of it. Stopping his attack as the tail moved out of range, Nemesis's hunter instinct made him quickly braced his shield in front of him, not a second too late.

The tail swung downwards and then leveled above the desert sands, sweeping a wide arc from the Black Diablos left flank all the way to the front where Tylor stood bracing his sword in defense. Slamming with brutal force against his shield, it sent Nemesis to skid backwards. Not slowing in its movement, the tail continued to sweep to the front, smashing into Tylor's great sword and sending him skidding backwards also.

"We have to get rid of the tail" Nemesis thought desperately to himself. Strong as he is, Nemesis can feel his shield arm start to shiver from the strain of bracing against the Black Diablos raw strength. Figuring that only Tylor would have a better than average chance of chopping off the long tail with his sword, Nemesis immediately hops forward three times, placing himself close to the right leg of the wyvern.

"Tylor!! Get the tail!! It's our only chance!!" Nemesis roared out as he simultaneously stabbed at the thigh.

Hopping backwards immediately to recover his breath, Nemesis nearly bugged out of his eye sockets as he watched Tylor quickly sheathing his sword and making a run back to a nearby canyon cliff about a couple yards away.

"Coward!!" Nemesis swore viciously at the retreating tall man. But his latest attack achieved what he had intended in the first place, it caught the huge wyvern's angry attention. Nemesis quickly ducked behind his shield again as the Black Diablos rammed into him again.

Unlike what Nemesis had deduced, Tylor wasn't running for cover. His objective is to reach the cliff. Stopping at the base of the cliff, Tylor looked briefly at it with a calculating eye then turned back to watch Nemesis fending off the wyvern's deadly attack. Reaching into his backpack again, Tylor pulled out another sonic bomb.

Nemesis gritted his teeth in pain as the Black Diablos tried to ram him with its hip. The attack jarred his shoulder badly and Nemesis figured that the wyvern's next attack would be his doom. Then all of a sudden, a loud shrieking explosion rocked the clearing, deafening him and almost making him drop his shield in shocked surprise.

How the explosion affected Nemesis is nothing in comparison to how it affected the Black Diablos. Shaking its head painfully to clear the ringing in its ears, the wyvern turned his attention back towards Tylor. Watching the pitiful human brandishing his pitiful weapon at it, the Black Diablos lowered his head and charge at Tylor.

Nemesis wasn't even aware of the wyvern charging at Tylor. All he could do is watch in wide eye shock as the blade of Tylor's great sword began to glow a fiery red in color. Even with the bright light reflecting off the desert sands and the distance, the red glow is unmistakable. As the rampaging wyvern charge into his peripheral vision, Nemesis swore angrily at himself and quickly ran after the wyvern. Latching his Gunlance onto its holder at his back as he ran, he hoped that he don't have the task of peeling Tylor off the side of the cliff after the wyvern is through with him.

As his weapon began to vibrate with the energy been drawn into it, Tylor narrowed his eyes at the approaching wyvern and gave a mighty roar. Tylor could faintly sense Nemesis's surprise as he swung his great sword, not at the Black Diablos, but at the cliff side behind him. Slashing diagonally upwards, a wide arc of glowing red light flashed outwards from the sword and penetrated the cliff.

A huge sliced off chunk of the cliff shivered and began to slide down but then stopped when a few inches of it peeked over the edge. Tylor quickly sheathes his great sword and dashes a few steps to his right. The Black Diablos homed in on Tylor and shifted his running charge to the left. Stopping suddenly in his tracks, Tylor immediately switched directions and made a run for it on the opposite direction. The Black Diablos naturally shifted direction also.

Right almost at the last minute, Tylor made a leap for it, twisting his head around to watch the approaching wyvern as he soared through the air. Tylor could see intelligence gleaming in its eyes, could see it widened in shock realization that it is running into a trap. Leaping out of danger smoothly, Tylor landed with a smooth roll and took off running towards Nemesis soon as his feet made solid contact with the desert sands.

As Tylor had seen in its eyes, the wyvern saw its danger, realizing the mistake it is making. Almost as soon as Tylor made a diving leap away from his running charge, the wyvern immediately dug in his foot in an effort to stop. But his momentum made it impossible for him to halt as its feet skidded on the soft desert sands.

As Nemesis stood where he was and watched in slack jawed surprise, Nemesis saw Tylor's plan clearly in his mind. With a deafening roar of sound, the wyvern rammed devastatingly onto the side of the cliff even after its attempt to break its forward momentum. The violent vibrations of the collision rumbled throughout the cliff and shook the large piece of cliff that Tylor had sliced off from its loose perch.

With another loud roaring sound of rough rock sliding against rough rock, the sliced cliff slid off and began its downward plunge. The wyvern tugged desperately on its horns, but its running charge had stabbed its horns in too deeply, making it difficult to be pulled out. With a cloud of bellowing sand whooshing upwards, the cliff smashed down heavily onto the wyverns head, breaking one of its horn and causing the other to scratch a deep gorge downwards. The body went limp and slumped down heavily, its head disappearing under the heavy cliff rock.

Reaching Nemesis just as the sand began to slowly settle around the body, Tylor turned around to survey his work, a ghost of a smile tugging at his lips. Nemesis almost flung down his shield and Gunlance in his frustration.

"WE WERE TOLD TO BRING THAT THING BACK ALIVE!!" Nemesis roared in anger.

Catching a glimpse of Tylor smiling to himself, Nemesis fury blew out of proportion and he could barely restraint himself from giving the tall man a hard sock to the face.

"WHAT THE HELL …" Nemesis began, but Tylor cut him off.

"Keep it distracted" Tylor suddenly turned around made a dash away from Nemesis.

"WHAT THE HELL.. " Nemesis started again but stopped short when he heard a faint muffled roar. Nemesis turned around slowly to stare at the body of the wyvern. His eyes almost popped out of his eye sockets in shock.

Watching in disbelief, Nemesis stared silently as the tail wiggled and a foot struggle to find a purchase on the soft desert sands. Placing its foot under its body, the cliff rock, which probably weigh several tons, began to shiver as the corded neck muscles of the wyvern bunched up with the strain.

Lifting the heavy cliff rock slowly, bellows of oily black smoke began to fume from under the rock. With a loud roar of anger, the Black Diablos flung the cliff rock to the left and the massive cliff rock smashed heavily on the desert sands, causing another great cloud of sand to spray all around it.

Its face badly scratched and bleeding with one horn broken, the wyvern roared once more in anger and Nemesis could see the black smoke puffing out of its mouth.

Now it's seriously pissed, Nemesis thought with an uncomfortable feeling at the bottom of his stomach. Spotting Nemesis without difficulty, the wyvern lowered its huge head and made a running charge again.

Nemesis didn't know what Tylor is up to next, but he apparently has something up his cunning sleeve. He wants time, Nemesis thought to himself as he flipped a switch on his weapon, that is what I'll give him.

An ingenious weapon designed by Jax's father, the Gunlance is an amazing weapon. Made totally of a combination of Steel and Machalite Ore materials, Nemesis weapon looked like a huge gun cannon, sporting a long and sharp bladed tip at the front. Slightly bigger and round near the base of it, eight canisters of pressurized gases is contained within its belly.

What is contained inside these canisters and how Wayne gets it pressurized is a great debate among the hunters of Pokke village but none knew the actual answer since Wayne refused to indulged any of them with the knowledge. As expected, only place to get these "ammo" canisters is to purchase it from Wayne himself and is one of his main sources of income besides being the village's most talented weapon and armor smith.

On the hilt of the Gunlance, a switch, a knob and a trigger are located. The trigger is used naturally to fire the Gunlance. When fired, a great bellow of flame burst out of this nub of a hole found near the sharp bladed tip, scorching anything unfortunate enough to be caught in its lethal embrace. The switch is used to reload in case all canisters are running on empty.

The knob is used to control the amount of gases to be pumped into the "charging chamber" as Wayne puts it. There is a set limit as to how much gas one should use when firing the weapon. Wayne had cautioned that the knob is not to be fiddled with at all times. These being because if too much gas is pumped into the charging chamber and fired, the weapon might explode and possibly kill the wielder himself.

The highest Nemesis have dared turn the knob to is to pump one and a half canisters worth of gas into the charging chamber. The resulting blast had pushed him back a good four to five paces back as well as causing severe damage to the "charging chambers". The cost for repair had been high and Nemesis long remembered that incident for a long time since he had to take a few days off due to bruised shoulders when the Gunlance recoiled greatly.

Leaving the knob alone to use only a third of the gas from one canister, Nemesis stabbed his Gunlance deeply at an angle into the sands before his feet. Bracing his shield over his Gunlance, Nemesis ducked behind it and pulled the trigger.

A loud blast of explosion rocked the clearing and a great cloud of sand burst all around and obscured the vision of the wyvern. Enraged, the wyvern charged blindly into the cloud of sand and suddenly crashed heavily down onto the sands. The Gunlance had blasted a great big hole in the sands and blinded by it, the wyvern had charged directly into the hole and got temporarily trapped.

Side stepping twice after the blast ripped a large hole in the sands, Nemesis kept his eyes shut to prevent sand from getting into his eyes. Soon as he heard the surprised roar of the wyvern and hear it crashing heavily, he opened an eye to see the heavy sand settling down already with the wyvern trashing around trying to break free.

Seizing the chance, Nemesis hopped forward and stabbed a few shots in at the wing shoulder of the wyvern, drawing blood.

Tylor grinned to himself as he ran and heard the loud explosion. Judging the distance far enough, Tylor reached into his backpack and drew out a flat and round object that looked like a disc. Compressing the disc in between both hands, Tylor gave it a twist and immediately flings it far in front of him.

When the disc landed in the sands, a top section of it detached and began to spin furiously. When it reached the necessary spinning speed, it spews forth a thin web of filament thin but strong wires. With a radius of ten feet, the web settled gently all around the disc and a great jolt of electricity began to flow throughout the wires.

Still running, Tylor leaped and hopped in between the web wires until he reached the other side of it without touching the filament thin wires. Once safely on the other side, Tylor turned around just in time to see the wyvern leaped out of the hole, flapping its wings furiously. He could see Nemesis hopping rapidly backwards to avoid being crushed when the wyvern landed.

Slipping another sonic bomb out of his backpack, Tylor threw it at Wyvern and it exploded just as its feet touched land. The wyvern flinched its head painfully and began to shake its head again. Once the ringing stopped in its head, the wyvern roared angrily at Tylor and charge at him once again, even more enraged than before.

Tylor braced his sword before him in patience and confidence, watching calmly at the approaching wyvern. But the wyvern did something unexpectedly. It suddenly dug in its foot and stopped short a few feet away from the shock trap.

"Shit!" Tylor breathed to himself.

As the sonic bomb exploded loudly, Nemesis immediately turns to look at Tylor. Under the bright desert lights, he could see the shock trap that Tylor had set up. The electrical discharges from the wires sparkled, giving away its position clearly. With a sudden roar, the wyvern took off with amazing speed, its shattered horns aiming at Tylor. But somehow, deep inside himself, Nemesis instinctively knew that the wyvern will not fall for this trap, not this time.

Not giving it much further thought, Nemesis threw away his shield and turned the knob all the way, pumping all gases from all eight canisters into the "charging chamber". Slipping it onto its holder on his back, Nemesis made a dash after the rampaging wyvern. Almost instantly, Nemesis could feel his Gunlance vibrating violently on his back. The heart aching sound of bolts and nuts shaking loose on his weapon blended in with his heavy breathing, making Nemesis run harder after the wyvern.

Unsurprisingly to Nemesis, The wyvern suddenly dug in its foot and skidded a long distance, coming to a halt some few feet away from the trap. The Wyvern spread its wings threateningly and roared once more at Tylor, making it look like the wyvern is telling Tylor that it is not stupid enough to fall for his trap a second time. At that moment, Nemesis had reached it from behind.

Digging his feet in as well and whipping his Gunlance out into ready mode, Nemesis skidded all the way till he ended up directly under the wyvern. By then, Nemesis could see the base of his weapon bulged dangerously from the pressure. Averting his head, Nemesis jabbed his weapon at the underside of the wyvern and pulled the trigger.

The resulting explosion ripped the Gunlance apart and sent sharp pieces of metal shrapnel to fly in all directions. The explosion blasted off the wyverns thick tail and sent the heavy wyvern flying head first forward. The head plowed directly onto the shock trap and its body followed next, crashing heavily on its left flank.

Tylor, while initially surprised by the sudden great explosion, immediately ducked behind his great sword as several pieces of flying metal clanked harmlessly against it. Looking up again when he heard the wyvern crashing heavily and started making strangled gasp of pain, Tylor wasted no time and immediately dashed forward, leaving his sword behind.

Having no idea how much longer the shock trap will last against the strong wyvern, Tylor quickly threw a total of six tranquilizer bombs before it finally stopped trashing and dropped down into a deep sleep. However, soon as Tylor saw the sixth bomb having its effect on the wyvern, Tylor was already dashing towards the crumbled figure of Nemesis even before the wyvern's head hit the sands snoring.

Tylor knelt slowly beside the horribly injured man, slowly raising Nemesis right arm from covering his face and laying it back down on the side. Nemesis's face is surprisingly free from injury since he had shielded his face with his arms. He must have had enough time to pull the trigger, withdraw his hands and brace himself against the coming explosion.

A multitude of metal shrapnel have penetrated Nemesis thick metal armor, blood flowing freely from the wounds where long pieces of shredded metal stood jutting out from. His chest had caught the majority of the metal pieces with his legs spotting several open wounds. Judging from the shrapnel pierced through the underside of both arms, Nemesis wouldn't even be breathing now if he hadn't tried to protect his face from the exploding Gunlance.

Coughing out blood, Nemesis opened his eyes weakly and looked at Tylor. Nemesis tried to grin but he ended grimacing in pain instead.

"We…. did…..it…" Nemesis breathed out painfully.

"No, my friend. You did it." Tylor corrected him.

Nemesis tried to smile in pride, but a spasm of pain contorted his face and he coughed out more blood instead. His breath rattling, Nemesis closed his eyes and tried to hang on.

Tylor was looking at Nemesis's wounds in silence. Judging by one particularly long piece of metal jutting out from the left chest side, Tylor guessed that Nemesis's left lung is punctured. Unless he does something quick, blood will flood the lungs and Nemesis will suffocate to death, if not by his severe wounds. Unless……….

Just then, a pair of slim long legs walked casually to stand beside Tylor, clad in tight leathery looking leggings.

"You're late." Tylor said simply.

"Sigh! Complaining about me as usual. You never change, Tylor", a feminine voice answered him.

"Did you bring it?", Tylor held up his right hand over his shoulder.

After another exasperated sigh, the figure rummaged through her backpack and produced a flask containing a greenish gold liquid. Plunking in down on Tylor's palm, the figured pouted her mouth and sulked.

Ignoring the figure, Tylor swirled the contents of the flask once and popped open the cock.

"I don't know why you would bother anyhow. He is as good as dead with those kind of wounds.", the feminine voice spoke.

Ignoring her, Tylor gently lifted Nemesis's head a little and put the flask to his lips. But the potion dripped from around the edges as Nemesis refused to drink it. Holding the flask away, Tylor tightened his lips as he stared at the stubborn dying man.

"Dying here and now is all good and honorable, my friend, but what would you tell the elder when you meet her in the afterlife?" Tylor asked softly. Nemesis's eyes flared open and stared fiercely at Tylor, but the light in his eyes is fast fading away into darkness.

"Pokke village is in danger still. So you rather die here now and leave the people to their fates? How would you explain to the elder when she herself succumbs to the danger? Where is the man whom I last heard vowed that he will be there with the elder through darkness and light. Where?"

Nemesis reached up and grabbed Tylor's hand roughly, the dimming light in his eyes flaring back up briefly in his anger.

"The choice is yours, Nemesis. From that moment till now, the choice had always been yours alone."

Nemesis glared angrily at Tylor. No amount of words in the world could convey the words that his eyes now showed and Tylor smiled his thin lipped smile. Brief seconds passed as Nemesis's breath rattled in his punctured lungs.

Nemesis made his decision.

He drank.

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End of Chapter 17  
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	18. Chapter 18

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Chapter 18

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* 6 days after Jax's return with the Tigrex wyvern *

The sun burned bright and strong in the early afternoon sky. But as bright as it may shine, its warmth giving light found it difficult to penetrate the dense canopy of leaves hovering above the old forest. Inside, the slightly darker interior and extremely humid air caused water droplets to collect on the leaves. When the droplets got too big and heavy for the leaves to hold, they would slip off the edges and plunge eighty feet down onto the ground, perpetually causing a light drizzle of rain inside.

Down below, undergrowths of stunted plants grew shin high, providing a excellent resting spot for flies and other insects. Whatever wind that manage to wend its way through this maze of towering trees and stunted undergrowths rustled the leaves. The thick undergrowth also provided something else for Jax and his team, a place to lie in hiding.

Jax hated this the most about his current hunt. The waiting. Making an inward groan of frustration, Jax gritted his teeth and moved his legs a little to loosen up the soreness he can feel building up in his muscles. An annoying fly buzz close and landed on his nose, making it itch and nearly causing him to sneeze. Jax grunted once more in annoyance and flick his finger over his nose, shooing the fly away from its comfortable perch.

Despite his unease at lying on his stomach waiting, his eyes roamed around alertly for any signs of movement. The minutes dragged on painfully into hours and yet, nothing happened except for the buzzing of some carnivorous fly that has a craving for human flesh.

After slapping and killing several of the nasty bugs, which they did so in as quiet a manner as they could, Jax and his team laid low and remain hidden under cloaks sewn with fake dead leaves and green flora. Jax glanced behind him and look at his fellow hunters.

In all appearances, the only one affected by the tediousness of the waiting is Jax himself. Neela remained where she was, her beautiful eyes ever alert beneath the cloak that camouflage her. And inches from her head, the shiny eyes of the Melynx, Miki, roamed around the surrounding with seriousness.

Jax had opposed at first to the idea of bringing little Miki along on their hunts and to his greatest surprise, Neela had insisted that Miki be brought along. When asked for clarification, Neela had burst out laughing and said simply, "You'll see". Jax had quietly agreed with the plan, more so because he is temporarily caught off guard by the sudden beauty that popped into his mind when Neela laughed gaily like that.

And as usual, Neela was right. Miki possessed an uncanny ability to locate wyverns in the local vicinity. An ability that even surpasses Neela's heightened senses. Though Neela is able to sense the presence of any nearby wyverns, she is unable to pinpoint the exact location. Miki can.

And for the past few days, Miki has led them to one wyvern after another with relative accuracy. And with each successful hunt, Jax began to feel that little Miki has earned a nice little spot in his team. Extremely agile and adept at hiding in the shadows, Miki has proven that it can take good care of himself when Jax and the others have to blaze into battle with their weapons ready. Giving Miki a small backpack of healing potions, Miki also doubles as the team medic in case of injury. Miki is swift enough to pop close to the injured companion, provide the potion and zip off into hiding again.

Catching sight of Jax staring back at her with wide eyes, Neela lowered her eyes with a little embarrassment and blushed. Coughing to himself softly, Jax turned his head around to look at Gron. Ever strong and ever sturdy in his devotion to the team, the heavily muscled lad stood ready to pitch in with muscled grease, his eyes also ever alert for movements in the darker interior of the old forest.

Giving a thumbs up gesture to Jax as assurance that he is holding up fine, Gron grinned his mischievous smile. Facing forward again, Jax groaned inwardly to himself again.

_What the heck is wrong with me today?_ Jax thought to himself

Shaking his head a little to clear it some, Jax peered at the pitfall trap that they have set up about thirty meters away from their current spot. Set up near this little pond of clear water, the location seemed the perfect spot for wyverns to drop by for a cool drink. After sniffing around, Miki also confirmed that the pond is regularly visited. Seeing the huge tracks left behind by other denizens of the old forest, Jax didn't doubt the little fellow's words in the least.

Keeping his eyes on the pond is not a difficult task. An unusually big opening above let in a big round beam of radiant light to shine brightly on the clear pond, making it easy for Jax to spot even the fishes swimming calmly around near the surface. Jax had deduced that if anything wanted a drink, it would have to come through that opening.

As time crawled painfully by, Jax slowly started to doze off, lured by the soothing sounds of rustling leaves and the buzzing of the flies. Just at that moment, something blunt poke him at his side and he sputtered awake, face flushing a deep red in embarrassment.

"Jax, I think the elder can hear you snoring from here." Gron said quietly with humor dancing between his words. Neela giggled and quickly tried to stifle it with her slender hand. Jax flushed an even darker shade.

Still giggling away, Neela suddenly quieted down when little Miki gripped her shoulder hard with its paws. Understanding completely in that silent action, Neela immediately hushed the others.

Withing a few minutes, the sound of beating wings became audible and the young hunters slowly tightened their grip on their weapons. Though they have been successful with only minor bruises in their previous hunts to capture live Kut Kus the past few days, it doesn't do to be overconfident now, something Jax is always drilling into his team mates.

Something large hovered over the opening and cast a large shadow down the beam of light shining from above. Immediately banishing all outside thoughts in his mind, Jax focused all his attention at the landing creature. What he saw made him gasp silently in surprised. A silence of awe descended on the group as Gron and Neela watched with their mouth wide open.

The wyvern slowly descending down into their midst is none they have ever seen before. At first look, it looks exactly like a Kut Ku, only that its shimmering scales is a jet black in color. The tail is longer and instead of ending in a tapering end, the tail ends into a club like appendage with several menacing looking barbs sticking outwards on either side of it.

"What in blazes is that thing?" Gron hissed quietly to Jax.

"Yian Garuga, A.K.A The Night Wolf. Very nasty, don't attack it until it hits the trap." Gron nodded his head mutely.

Landing with a loud thump, the black wyvern stood motionless while its eyes roamed around. Jax and his team hunkered their heads lower, hoping that their scent will not be carried over by the wind and alert it to their presence.

Jax began to sweat, raking his brain on whatever he have read before on this rare creature. Jax remembered reading that the Yian Garuga is leagues ahead of the Yian Kut Ku in terms of intelligence. It also secretes poison on its tail and claws, so getting even a tiny scratch from it is to be avoided at all cost.

Jax was just about to hiss this information to his team mates when he was distracted by the sight of the creature heading for the water pond. Maybe if it got trapped in the pitfall, it wouldn't matter about its poison, They could just pelt it with tranquilizer bombs till it drops unconscious and they won't even have to fight it.

All of them affected by the tension of the situation, they all waited anxiously for it to fall into the trap. But it didn't. It stopped inches from the trap and lowered its head to peer at the suspicious looking ground, sniffing here and there.

_Damn it_, Jax thought to himself, _it noticed the trap._

Jax cursed silently again when the Yian Garuga backtracked away from the trap. Having crawled forward to get closer to Jax, Neela whispered "Jax, I don't think it's going to fall for the trap"

"Not if I can help it." Gron suddenly declared. Flinging the cloak off, Gron leapt forward and charged with a battle cry.

"GRON! WAIT!" Jax shouted but his words fell on deaf ears.

Spinning around to glare at the direction of the noise, the Yian Garuga stared stupidly at the approaching hunter, slow to react to this unexpected turn of event. Still more than a few yards away, Gron dug in his foot, his hammer posed right behind him. Giving another loud roar, Gron flung his massive hammer at the wyvern.

Spinning end over end, the hammer made a loud smashing sound as it connected with the Yian Garuga's head. Knocked back by the powerful blow, the wyvern gave a pain-filled screech and topple backwards, right into Jax pitfall trap. Almost immediately, the creature began to trash around, trying to break free from the trap.

Resisting the temptation to whoop in glee, Gron reached behind to grab at his tranquilizer bombs and started to run forward again. Not given a chance to even take another step forward, Gron was tackled from behind and he crashed heavily onto the ground.

Holding him down, Jax hissed urgently to Gron, "STAY DOWN!!"

Then came Neela with Miki still clinging to her back, the camouflaging cloak bellowing behind her as she held it stretched out between her arms. Leaping down after them, the cloak settled over them.

"WHAT THE ~~!" Gron started to say as he simultaneously tried to push himself back up onto his feet.

But Jax wouldn't let him go and continued to hold him down.

"STAY DOWN!! WE'RE NOT ALONE." Jax hissed urgently once again.

It was only then Gron heard the sound of something large swooping down from above. That sound was quickly followed by the sound of snapping tree branches and pieces of broken wood plus an abundance of shredded leaves rained down from all around.

With a suddenness that took all of them in surprise, the newcomer dived down with ferocity at the vulnerable Yian Garuga. With a full part of its lower body still buried inside the pitfall trap, the poor trapped wyvern was defenseless against the onslaught. Smashing down on the Yian Garuga with concussive force, the newcomer landed heavily directly on top of the prone wyvern.

With its neck pinned down by one massive clawed foot, all the Yian Garuga can do is screech in pain as the newcomer raked its other foot across the Yian Garuga's back. Tearing through the tough scales easily, the claws raked from the back all the way to the wings, shredding the fragile membrane and causing blood to spray all over.

Jax could not help but feel pity for the poor unfortunate creature, he even felt that this was his fault since he got it trapped in the first place, leaving it unable to defend itself. Gron and Neela stared in silent awe as the newcomer raked its foot one more time, tearing a huge chunk of raw bleeding flesh from the Yian Garuga's back. Little Miki covered its ears in horror as the trapped wyvern screamed again in extreme agony.

Satisfied that its prey is beyond escape, the newcomer calmly lowered its armored head and bit deeply onto the Yian Garuga's neck with its razor sharp teeths. The Yian Garuga's eyes bulged obscenely and a loud gurgle erupted from its beak as the newcomer jerked back its head. Ripping the neck open and severing a jugular vein in the process, the Yian Garuga's head dropped down limply as its blood sprayed all over its killer, covering the brilliant emerald green scales with numerous bright red splatters.

Apparently elated with its hunt, the newcomer roared out in triumph, causing plenty of dead leaves to drop down from above. Cringing from the loud roar, Jax couldn't help but shiver slightly in fear. And with his shivering, his long Monoblos Scythe scrapped slightly against his armored leggings.

Almost instantly, the newcomer turned its huge head to peer at their direction. Its slit-like pupils dilated as it tried to focus its vision through the darker interior of the old forest.

"Nobody..... make... a..... sound...." Jax hissed slowly and quietly at his team mates. All four of them hunkered their heads lower and hugged the ground tighter.

Letting go of the limp neck of the dead corpse, the newcomer slowly turned its massive body around and continued to peer at their general direction. Though massive, its body is sleek and aerodynamically shaped. A long tail trailed behind it, spotting a bulbous end with nasty looking spikes as well. As it turned, several small ferns growing near the pond was slashed cleanly through by the creatures long tail. The smaller pointed head, perched on a long sinuous neck, spots a sharp claw-like appendage at its chin.

With its large wings held tightly close to its side, the wyvern took a step closer, its eyes roaming around still. Gron took in a sharp breath as he noticed the huge wyvern standing just beside his hammer. Jax, feeling Gron stir beneath him, held his hands tighter, cautioning him not to make any more reckless moves.

The huge creature took another step forward, the vibration of its footsteps could be felt by the young hunters. Jax gritted his teeth, figuring that they might have to fight it. Glancing at Neela, he saw Neela nodding at him in silence, understanding that fighting may be their only option now.

Facing back forward, Jax was just about to grip his weapon and burst out charging when a sound far in front of them stopped him cold. Shrieking in porcine terror, a Mosswine burst out from hiding under a clump of bushes and dashed madly pass the young hunters.

Glancing back at the lumbering wyvern, Jax watched in silence as the eyes of the creature followed the terrified Mosswine. Jax could see the huge wyvern considering adding pork chops to its dinner from the look in its eyes. But then, the wyvern turned back around, heading back to the dead Yian Garuga carcass.

Just as it is turning around, the huge wyvern spied Gron's hammer lying on the ground. Walking over to investigate and giving it a sniff, The wyvern poke at it once with its sharp chin. Jax froze in horror and quickly gaze at Gron under him, foreseeing trouble.

Amazingly, Gron stayed where he is, as still as a frozen marble statue, whether from fright or shock or both, Jax couldn't tell.

After poking it several more times, the wyvern finally scooped it up in its jaw and walked back with it to the dead Yian Garuga. Gripping one foot at the neck and the other on the ripped back, the huge wyvern began beating its wings and started to fly, lifting the dead carcass easily into the air along with it.

Flying through the opening high above, the shadow of it trailed away in a north easterly direction. Before Jax could even breathe a sigh of relief, he was suddenly thrown off by Gron staggering back onto his feet. Before Jax's astonished eyes, Gron started running after the wyvern.

"GRON! STOP!" Jax shouted and started running after Gron.

Jax caught up to Gron easily and grabbed at his hand, trying to drag him to a stop. But to his surprise, Gron turned around, twisted his hand free with ease and gave Jax a hard shove to the chest.

Gron is a easy natured kind of fellow, very amiable and not easy to anger. There are not many times Jax has ever seen Gron angered, Jax could have counted the number of times with one hand. There is no denying the anger radiating from Gron now.

Having had his breath knocked out of him by the unexpected shove, Jax landed on his back with a loud "oof". Sitting up slowly, Jax watched as Gron stood silently before him, tears streaming down his face, his fists clenched tightly at his side. Without any more words, Gron turned around and ran after the wyvern again.

Finally catching up to the both of them, Neela watched in confusion as Gron ran ahead of them, heedless of whether they are following him or not. Reaching down and helping Jax to get back on his feet, Neela watched Jax in growing concern, but Jax eyes remained on the receding form of his best friend.

"What do we do now?" Neela asked meekly.

Jax turned around then and stared Neela full in the face. Neela saw the answer in his eyes and felt foolish in asking the question.

"Let's go." Jax said quietly and Neela nodded without hesitation.

The both of them ran after Gron.

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End of Chapter 18

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	19. Chapter 19

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Chapter 19  
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Even at a very young age, Jax knew that he is different. Most kids in the village refused to play with him and he is wise enough to know why. He is a stranger among their midst. For one thing, among the children of the same age as himself in the village, Jax stood head and shoulders taller than all of them. The second is because he is not a native to the village.

Thus he spend most of his time reading the vast number of books that his father kept in their living room, especially those that pertain to wyverns. That is before a new boy came to lived close by to his home.

Roughly the same age as himself, the little scrawny boy kept mostly to himself. But Jax will forever remember the little boy's father. Heavily muscled, handsome, tall and proud, the impressive fighter wielded this massive hammer easily and with obvious skill.

New to the village, the fighter immediately enrolls into the hunters guild, no doubt to earn money to pay for house rental. This necessity however requires the father to go out frequently on hunting trips, leaving the boy home alone for most of that time.

Also ignored by the other village kids, the little boy would always sit on this small bench just outside his home, staring into nothing and waiting for his adored father to come home. Jax had tried approaching the boy on several occasions with the intention of making friends with him.

But the boy would always smile this shy gap tooth smile at him but not replying. That is until one day the local bully of the village decided to make joke cracks at the young boy. Bringing along a brother and some other young troublemakers, the bully boy named Charles, taunted and made fun about the little boy's father.

Naturally, a fight ensured but the outcome is inevitable. Being scrawny and woefully outnumbered, the little boy was swiftly pinned down until Jax came to his rescue. Suffering only minor bruises from the encounter, Jax gained something valuable from it. He gained a friend.

Since then, the both of them did a lot of things together. They both worked together delivering materials among the local shops, they helped old couples shovel heavy snow off roofs and they always shared the pay.

Then tragedy stuck. One and a half year later, the father went on some "business" trip alone. One day, almost a month since his father left, the little boy suddenly broke out in cold sweat, feeling that something ain't right. Rushing blindly down Pokke mountain into the nearby jungles, he ignored Jax hurrying to catch up with him from behind.

And right there in the jungles, lay the crumpled body of his father. Severely injured and bleeding heavily, the dying man had enough time to smiled gently at his son, the pride shining briefly in his dimming eyes. By the time Jax rushed back and brought help, the man is already gone, with the little boy sitting quietly beside him, tears streaming unchecked down his cheeks.

A quiet funeral was held. Not many people attended the funeral. The Elder spoke a few encouraging words to the little boy, promising that his home rental will be taken cared of by the hunting guild until he come of age and is able to handle the rental himself.

But a change had came over the little boy. Gone is the carefree happy-go-lucky nature. Gone is the shy gap tooth smile. Together, Jax and the little boy trained together whenever time permits them to. Within a few short years, the little boy grew up and inherited his father's heavy girth and it wasn't very long that he began wielding his father's hammer with practiced ease.

No one but Jax alone knew how much the father meant to the little boy. Not even Neela. Jax is thinking about all these as he ran after Gron now. Though the strongest in the team, Gron is normally not noted for his speed. Slow as a lumbering ox, he has enough strength of one to bash the head of a bulldrome wide open with one swing of his hammer.

Even though he is physically stronger than both Jax and Neela, he lack the stamina of either of them. Jax just had to keep up with him and not lose sight of Gron. Sure enough, just when the sun is setting quite low on the horizon, Gron stopped for a rest. Breathing heavily from his exertions, he bends over his muscled frame and kept himself from keeling over by grasping his knees.

Also breathing heavily himself, Jax stopped beside his friend and watched over him in concern.

"You don't have to come with me on this, Jax. I made a mess of the situation, I'll settle it myself." Gron said in a dull monotone voice, very unlike his usual tone of voice.

Jax kept silent for a while, not replying. Turning around, he watched Neela in the same exhausted position as Gron, trying very hard to catch her breath from the back breaking run. Turning his gaze from Neela, Jax watched Miki with a questioning eye. Still perched on Neela's back, Miki caught the look and nodded its small head, pointing at a north easterly direction.

Nodding in mute thanks, Jax reached into his backpack and pulled out a map. Spreading it on the ground before him, Jax knelt low to get a closer look at the map, trying hard to focus in the dimming light.

Still staring at the map, Jax spoke to Gron. "Do you remember the time I was punished by the Elder for disobeying her orders, Gron?"

Jax waited for an answer that did not come, except for the sound of heavy breathing.

"I remember that moment well," Jax said again, "I was alone punished for the misdeed but some fool of a fellow stepped out and said something. Do you remember what that fool said?"

Again, the only response is heavy breathing.

"That fool said something about us being in a team, that whatever happens, we will suffer our defeat or celebrate our victory together." Jax answered for Gron.

Again, no answer.

"Well, maybe not those exact same words, " Jax amended, "but the meaning is close enough. And right now, that same fool is defying that sacred vow. I consider that an insult. I don't like being insulted."

"This is my battle, Jax. You'll be a fool to help me in this." Gron finally answered in a quiet voice, still not looking up.

"Then the only logical course of action in this situation is for the fools to stick together." Jax replied.

"Not fools," Neela stepped in, "just friends that will be there for each other no matter what happens."

Gron looked up then and the sparkle of his old self shone in his eyes again. Jax and Gron shared a grin together.

"Now if all the fools are done talking," Jax said with a small chuckle, "come here and take a look at the map please." Crowding over Jax, all of them stood staring at the map.

"If my calculations are correct, we should be here at the moment," Jax tapped his finger on a spot indicating that they are in the Hayworn forest, "and if Miki is right and we are still heading in the right direction, we will end up here." Jax tapped at a new spot on the map.

Bending down lower and squinting his eyes to see better in the dimming light, Gron read aloud, "Plains of Arboria. Now why is that name so familiar?"

"It should. Thats where one hundred thousand man lost their lives trying to fight elder dragons." Jax said quietly and started to roll up his map. A slight breeze blew past them and Neela shivered.

Gron straightened himself and bow his head low, deep in thought. The Plains of Arboria had earned a nasty reputation during the Great Wyvern Wars. During that era, roughly a hundred thousand man was gathered and marched into the plains, heading for New Corsia. A little vital fishing village near the coast, New Corsia was besieged by several Plesioths, a species of wyverns adapted to life at sea and deep rivers.

Unexpectedly, the army itself was ambushed at the Plains of Arboria by an unknown wyvern adversary. Depending from whom you heard the story from, the enemy was rumored to be several elder dragons to a whole phalanx of minor wyverns. But no matter the true nature of the enemy they faced, the outcome is the same. The army was wiped out to the last man.

Though the war is long over, the plains remained barren up till now. Nothing grew over it, not even wild grasses. It is also rumored that the plains is haunted by the restless souls of the dead army. Anyone daring to set foot on it is rumored to be never seen ever again alive. Because of such rumors, no one even dared approach it within a twenty mile distance.

No one, until now. Looking at Gron's grim face, Jax knew exactly what he is thinking and took the chance to answer him before he gets to open his mouth.

"We're in this together, Gron. It has always been this way, and if I have anything to say about that, it will stay that way forever." Clasping Gron by the forearm, Jax gave him a reassuring squeeze. Walking over to them, Neela laid her smooth hand on Jax's and added her own smile.

Gron's unease simmered down and he smiled back in return. Somewhere in his heart, he felt that as long as the three of them stick together, they can achieve the impossible together.

Not all of them felt comforted though. Miki remained clinging to Neela's back with sad down-turned eyes and its ears slanting downwards. Miki peered sideways at Neela, but Neela studiously ignored its pleading look. None of these details escaped Jax however.

"What is it, Miki?" Jax asked gently.

Startled, Miki once again peered at Neela and this time, Neela shook her head slightly at it. Miki looked down again and its ears slanted down lower.

Jax sighed. "There's more than one wyvern, am I right Miki?"

Gron's eyes widened as Miki nodded slowly.

"How did you know?" Neela asked with a shocked expression.

Tucking his map onto his backpack, Jax answered, "An educated guess. It gets harder to breathe the closer we get to the plains, the feeling of fear slowly growing in your hearts and a thousand plus acre of barren land where nothing has set foot on for the past century."

Walking slowly towards their destination, Jax remarked over his shoulder, "It's the perfect wyvern breeding ground."

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End of Chapter 19  
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	20. Chapter 20

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Chapter 20

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Neela and Gron both steeled themselves for what lay ahead. Prior to hiking the last few miles towards their destination, the young hunters sprinkled themselves with plant juices from holly leaves to mask their scent.

Getting closer and closer to their destination, both Neela and Gron began to understand what Jax had meant. The closer they went, the feeling of helplessness and fear began to slowly gnaw at their limbs, making their movements awkward.

But unknown to them, Jax wasn't much affected by this gnawing numbness and fear. Without his guidance and show of courage, his little team of hunters would have dropped down on their knees and groveled and whined, refusing to proceed any further. Even brave, experienced hunters would have succumbed to this unreasoning fear.

The Elder knew of this problem and it is because of this reason she had sent Nemesis along with Tylor to hunt for the Black Diablos. If she had sent Nemesis with a team of hunters, they would have been felled by the fear alone before they could even get to face the monster. Tylor, like Jax, acted like a rock solid anchor for the others to hang on to. However hopeless the situation seemed, their quick thinking and undying courage would burn the fear away from the hearts of others and instill them to commit acts of greatness.

Gazing at Jax stealthily fleeting from cover to cover in front of him, Gron wondered at how Jax knew of the fear, of his seemingly vast knowledge of wyverns. Gron had told himself that he probably absorbed all these knowledge from the books he had read but somewhere in his heart, he wasn't so certain of his own deductions.

Jax suddenly stopped in his tracks behind a tree and raised a fist. Neela and Gron stopped in their tracks immediately. Gron fingered his carving knife nervously and he spied Neela gripping her bow so tightly that her knuckles turned white. They were very close now, they could almost feel the tension bubbling in their blood.

Jax peeked from behind the tree for a few seconds, then suddenly turned to face them and raised his finger to his lips. Then he glanced to his right and pointed up a small hill dotted with small trees and bushes. Neela and Gron both nodded their heads in understanding and watched silently as Jax crouched low and snuck his way slowly up the hill. Once Jax snuck from a couple of bushes ahead of them, Neela followed and snuck through the same spots that Jax had used. And after Neela, Gron followed.

Crawling forward the last few yards to the very top, the young hunters beheld a sight that will remain within their souls for the rest of their lives. With the sun just peeking over the horizon by a bit, the sky was tinted a brilliant shade of pinkish red. And within the sparse clouds over the plains, scores of Rathians and Rathalos soared above.

Known as the "Queens" and "Kings" of the skies respectively, they varied greatly not only in size but also in color. To the smallest of them, the Rathians were emerald green while the Rathalos were dark ruby red. Amongst the clouds of red and green, larger pink Rathians and azure Rathalos swooped and dived. Above this myriad of colors, Jax spied four rare golden Rathians soaring amongst the rest of the flock, lending their golden sheen to the rainbow of colors reflecting off the other smaller breeds.

Crawling close to Jax alongside Neela, Gron gaped at the beautiful sight showering its light down at them. Beautiful indeed, but deadly as well. Gron shuddered as he imagined what would happen if they were discovered this close to their territory. Even though they had taken the precautions to cover their scent and worn camouflaging cloaks, Gron felt unreasonably exposed to those reptilian eyes.

Wrenching his eyes from the skies, Gron studied the plains below. Just as Jax said, nothing grew on the plains, leaving behind a dark brown vista of rich soil. Dotted here and there, several small flashes of light blinked whenever a stray ray of sunlight shined on them. And littered all over the plains were numerous mounds of dirt, piled up just as high as the little hill they were on.

Perplexed at the sight of the strange structures, Gron was about to ask Jax about that when his eye caught sight of a Rathian slowly descending upon the top of one of these mounds. Instead of landing on top of the mound, the huge wyvern disappeared out of sight, giving the impression that there was a hole in the center of those mounds through which the wyverns descended.

"Miki", Jax asked in a soft whisper and all eyes turned to him."Can you tell which of those mounds the Rathian that took Gron's hammer flew into??"

Miki nodded enthusiastically and pointed at a slightly smaller mound, quite close to the edge of the plains but still pretty deep in enemy territory. Jax eyebrows furrowed, deep in thought.

"What now, Jax?", Gron crawled closer and asked.

"How about if we sneak in at night when they're all asleep?" Neela suggested.

"Not gonna work," Jax replied bluntly. Watching the sky turning slowly dark as night set in, Jax was amazed to see only a handful of stars shining from above. Slightly perplexed at this, Jax continued, "they work in shifts. They hunt both in daylight and at night."

Gron fought a wave of depression as he considered abandoning the hope of ever getting his hammer back. Jax caught the sudden silence and saw Gron's determination slowly crumbling away.

"We'll get your hammer back, Gron. Don't worry." Jax reminded him gently and patted him on the shoulder.

All of a sudden, several raspy howls echoed throughout the plains, raising hackles of short hair on Jax's neck. Raspy and long, the howl sounded far and wide, making the young hunters clench their respective weapons tightly.

It sounded like a warning to all the wyverns on the plains. Jax gritted his teeth and kept silent, hoping with all his heart that it wasn't a warning that their territory had been intruded upon. By them. Whatever the case, if they were discovered, their chance of survival against the entire horde of Rathians and Rathalos was less than zero.

Within minutes, the numerous wyverns that were previously air-borne slowly descended into their respective mounds and soon after, the silence of the night was only broken by the soft gentle winds winding around the mounds. Just as unnerving as the previous howl, the silence dropped pins onto the stretched-out nerves of the young hunters.

"What's going on, Jax?" Gron asked hesitantly, "I thought these things were nocturnal!"

"Shhh!" Jax hissed urgently and pointed up at the skies.

"HOLY!!" Gron breathed silently to himself and Neela clenched both her fists tightly.

Up above and approaching the plains, a small speck of silvery light grew larger and larger. Though the plains had already been shrouded in darkness, the speck caught the light still from the sun that had long since sunk below the horizons and reflected it in a resplendent array of light. Stopping to hover above the plains, the object beat its huge silvery wings and began to slowly circle around the area as though it was surveying the area.

"Silver Rathalos" Jax breathed to himself softly in awe. Gron and Neela caught his words and began to shiver slightly in fear.

Gracefully gliding through the air, buoyed up by the warm currents of air rising from the still warm plains, the massive wyvern emitted a strong aura of danger to the young hunters. Dwarfing even the largest of the golden Rathians, it soared silently for several long minutes, oblivious to the presence of the young hunters.

"Is that the pack leader?" Gron asked shakily.

"I don't think so." Neela said softly to both Jax and Gron, " I can feel the other wyverns hiding in their mounds in fear. They are afraid of it."

Jax kept silent and eyed the huge wyvern, committing every detail of it to his memory, from its talon like appendage jutting in front of its chin, the hard spiky mane at the sides of the head, the massive wingspan to its tapering tail with several sharp spikes jutting from the sides. With its natural ability to breathe a great big ball of flame at intruders, it was the airborne equivalent to one of the guild's dreadnoughts.

After making its rounds three more times around the plains, the Silver Rathalos angled its wings and soared towards the west. Remaining hidden until it was no more than a speck in the sky, Jax motioned to Neela and Gron to keep still and not move.

Once the feeling of fear faded away,the sky above the plains remained barren, as barren as the land beneath it. Jax suppose he'd have to thank the Silver Rathalos for that. Now was their chance.

"Let's go."

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Stealthily making their way between the mounds towards their destination, the small party of hunters kept their eyes locked forward. But keeping their eyes locked straight forward did not help. Their feet would scrape against metal and bone as they walked forward, the last remaining remnant to a once great army.

When they first stepped into the plains, they were all awestruck by the dead remains of the army. Armors and weapons of every different description littered the plains. Some shredded, most of it broken and scattered all around. Bending down to study a chest plate that had miraculously remained in one piece, Jax could see the armor was made with skill. Though a full century had past and being exposed to the elements of nature, the armor was still rust free, though crusted over thickly with dirt and mud.

Even more unnerving to the young hunters were the skeletal remains of the army. Sun bleached skulls and broken bones littered the barren plain. Neela turned deathly pale and covered her mouth with her hands, looking very much like she was about to throw up. Gron, looking just as pale as Neela, took one glance at the remains and quickly locked his eyes ahead. Miki, ears drooping, pressed its face against Neela's back, refusing to even look.

Walking up to Neela, Jax took gentle hold of her ice-cold hands and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"Keep your eyes on me and don't look at them, ok?" Jax whispered softly to her and she slowly nodded her head, still very pale. Seeing her nod, Jax turned around, still holding onto her hand and gently guided her forward.

By the time they reached the mounds that Miki had indicated, it was already way past midnight. Stopping at the base of the mound to rest, Jax took one look at his team to make sure they were holding out fine. Neela had regained some color to her cheeks but she still gritted her teeth tightly to fight off the panic. Gron stood silently by, staring at the top of the mound.

Assured that his team was going to be fine for now, Jax knelt down and dug his hand through the soil. Pulling up a handful of dirt, Jax crushed it between his fingers and gave it a sniff. Crunching his eyebrows together, Jax is perplexed at why the plains remained barren all these while. The soil is rich and dark, exactly the type of soil that farmers grow their crops on. So why was it barren still?

Clearing the question from his mind, Jax stood up and signaled to the others that it is time to move. Creeping their way slowly up the mound, they finally reached the top to discover that there was indeed a big hole right at the center of it.

Staring into the hole, the young hunters were awed at the amount of space inside the mound. Judging visually, Jax estimated that at least four or five full grown Rathian could rest inside comfortably with plenty of space to spare. As it is, there appeared to be only two occupants inside, in addition to the half-eaten remains of a Yian Garuga. The Rathian lay curled up in sleep, resting on top of its nest build from hardened dirt.

At one corner, the immense hulk of an Azure Rathalos lay stretched out. But Jax cocked his eye in curiosity. Something about the Rathalos seemed strangely out of place.

"Jax!" Neela gasped softly and gripped his arm, startling him. "The Rathalos... It's dead!"

Slightly shocked at the revelation, Jax turned back to peer at the Rathalos as best as he could. With a soft gasp, Jax realized that Neela was right. The body of the Rathalos, though immense, had its skin hanging down limply over it's bones. It's wings were tattered and dry and it's chest remained still and probably have been that way for a long time.

"Well, at least we don't have two wyverns to worry about." Jax thought to himself in relief.

"Jax!" Gron gripped his arm and pointed, " My hammer! There it is!"

Sure enough, the handle of Gron's hammer peeked out from the edge of the nest, near the slumbering head of the Rathian.

Gron was all for leaping down and make a dash for it, but Jax stopped him with a warning eye. The floor of the mound was littered with bones from past meals and dashing madly through them would more than likely awaken the Rathian. Even if they charged in headlong, grabbed the hammer and dealt with the Rathian, they would probably have made enough of a ruckus to bring the rest of the wyvern family down on them.

Jax was still trying to come up with a plan when Neela suddenly shook his arm and bring him to her attention.

"I'll go, Jax." Neela said grimly. Jax was aghast and was about to make a furious shake of his head. But Neela gripped him harder and glared at him. "You have to let me go, Jax, because I'm the only chance you got."

Jax was about to opened his mouth but then the sudden meaning of her words made his mouth shut on its own. Between the four of them, the ones most suited for stealth was Neela. The big, clumsy feet of his as well as those of Gron's was sure to wake the Rathian up, just in time for its midnight snack.

Gron didn't like the idea of sending down Neela either, but there didn't seem to be any other alternative available to them. Slowly lowering a coil of rope they had brought along with them, Jax and Gron held onto the rope securely as Neela slowly slid down it.

Once her feet touched the ground, she slowly made her way towards the nest, the Rathian still snoring away. Up above, Gron and Jax peeked over the age nervously, gripping their weapons tightly just in case.

Neela seemed almost to glide above the debris on the floor as she made her way stealthily towards the nest. Both Jax and Gron breathed a sigh of relief when she finally reached the nest, the handle of the hammer well within her reach. Biting her lips in anxiety, Neela reached for the handle.

All of a sudden, something small popped up between Neela and the hammer. Making a sharp squawking sound, the little figure nearly made Neela jumped out of her armor. Almost the size of a dog, the small little figure had light brown leathery skin, two enormously large round eyes that seemed abnormally too large for its small head. Flapping its small wings faintly with a short stubby tail wagging playfully behind it, the small figure stared at Neela and squawked one more time at her.

"Rathalos hatchling..." Neela thought to herself in surprise. Glancing at the huge Rathian, Neela silently breathed a sigh of relief to see that it still slumbered on peacefully. Up above, Jax and Gron also breathed a sigh of relief.

Giving the little baby wyvern a shaky smile, Neela tried to reach for the handle hammer again. The baby wyvern darted its head forward and tried to take a playful nip at her hand. Snatching her hand back in fear, Neela wondered what to do. It was only after watching the baby wyvern for a few minutes that Neela realized the little wyvern have yet to grow any teeth as it gaped at her with its mouth wide open, its tongue hanging out by the side.

Reaching out her hand one more time, Neela this time tried to pat the little wyvern on its head. Jax, Gron and Miki all held their breaths as Neela attempts to make this gamble. Slowly reaching out, Neela's hand came closer and the little wyvern jerks its head back once or twice, as if fearing her touch. However, seeing Neela giving it a small gentle smile, the little wyvern held still at the last minute and let her touch its head.

Gently stroking along the back of its head, Neela smile widened when the little wyvern seemed to enjoy being patted on the head. The skin felt like soft leather, with small nubs of scales that would eventually grow wider and harder. Arching its head higher, the little wyvern positively purred in delight at the sensation.

Giving it one final pat, Neela removed her hand and gripped Gron's hammer with the eyes of the baby wyvern watching her every movement. It was only after she gripped the handle securely and gave it a tug that she realized the greatest flaw of her plan. She couldn't lift the hammer at all. Biting her lips in frustration, she cursed herself for not remembering this detail.

Gron's hammer was probably just as heavy as herself, even Jax had difficulty lifting the hammer. Jax and Gron both groaned up above when they saw Neela giving it a fruitless tug. Desperate and at a loss as to what to do now, Neela glanced back at them helplessly. It was then she saw both Jax and Gron's eyes widened in shock, Jax raising his hand at her in warning.

Whirling around in alarm, Neela found herself staring into one huge golden eye glaring at her balefully. The slit-like black irises narrowed in surprise and annoyance.

The Rathian had awakened.

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End of Chapter 20

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	21. Chapter 21

A nice thank you to Isabell at Minegarde(dot)com who took

the time to show how bad my grammar really is..

thanz sis.. you're the hero..

^,..,^

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Chapter 21

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The wyvern stood up slowly and spread its wings far and wide, its tail arching over its back the way a scorpion does when provoked. Neela could faintly see some greenish ichor oozing between the numerous spikes jutting out from the sides of the tail. If the force of the tail stabbing down at her didn't kill her, the poison would surely finish the job.

Neela couldn't breathe properly, she had to gasp harshly through her mouth in order to keep oxygen flowing into her lungs. Seemingly with a will of its own, her legs took several steps back and then stopped. No amount of mental screaming at her legs from then on would compel them to obey her anymore.

The wyvern's lips on either side of the head curled back, revealing teeths just as sharp as Jax's Monoblos Scythe. Giving a low growl and lowering its head as though preparing for a frontal charge, the huge Rathian clawed viciously once on its nest, leaving behind deep scratches. The sight brought memories of the screaming dying Yian Garuga forcibly to her mind.

Neela trembled visibly, the aura of terror from those reptilian eyes staring at her causing all coherent thoughts to flee from her head. Closing her eyes instinctively, Neela averted her head away from the fearsome sight. Unbidden in her mind, Neela found herself wondering what it will be like to die in this forsaken place, her skeleton mingling with the remaining bones of a once great army.

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Momentarily shaken by this unexpected turn of event, Jax immediately leaped through the hole soon afterwards. The sight of Neela cowering before the huge wyvern, her life in mortal danger spurring his body to react before his mind could. Landing heavily amidst the bones of the wyvern's past meals and scattering the bone fragments, Jax unsheathes his scythe in one fluid motion.

Behind him, his ears caught the sound of something landing heavily behind him but his mind did not register it. Though the inside of the mound is dimly lit from the few stars winking outside, Jax was too engrossed with Neela's welfare to notice that he could see perfectly well inside, everything in his vision seemingly tinted a bright red.

All he could think of now is Neela.

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Slow to react at first, Gron leaped in after Jax immediately when he recovered from the shock. Gripping his carving knife firmly in his hand as he drops down, Gron kept praying to himself all the way, praying to some unknown God that just might be around to hear his prayers.

"Please!! Let my friends be safe from harm.."

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Cowering in fear, Neela heard a crashing sound from behind her. It was then that she felt a change in the intense feeling rolling inside her head. The Rathian had shifted her attention from Neela to glare angrily behind her.

Subconsciously whirling her head to look, she saw Jax brandishing his scythe and moving to charge in for the attack. Not even aware that Jax's blade is glowing a faint red in color, Neela attention was caught by Jax's eyes. Glowing a dim red in color in the darkness, the sight forcibly brought the memory of Jax after the Gypceros encounter. Without knowing how she knew, she knew she had to stop Jax now. If not, she would risk losing him.

Giving a low angry rumble, the Rathian bared all of its murderously sharp teeths and prepared to launch itself at Jax. Focusing all of its attention on what is considered to be the biggest threat at present, the Rathian was considerably startled when Neela dashed forward and planted herself firmly between Jax and the Rathian, a move that surprised both the Rathian and Neela herself.

Bracing her legs apart and holding her arms spread out beside her, Neela glared desperately at the Rathian.

"Please!!" she screamed, "STOP!! We mean you no harm!!"

Everything stopped. Jax stopped in his track, surprise etched on his face. Almost instantly, Jax felt a whooshing sensation flash through his mind and his vision inexplicably blacked out. He couldn't see, and he seem to have suddenly lost all sense of balance. Stabbing his scythe blade to the ground in front of him, he tried to use it to retain his balance. But even his hands seem to have lost all strength, his fingers slipping its grip. Just as he was about to collapse to his knees, he felt someone slipping under his arms, lending support.

"I've got you buddy, hang on...", Gron grunted.

Totally unaware of what was happening behind her, desperately hoping to stop the Rathian from attacking, Neela stayed interposed between the Rathian and Jax. With cold sweat dripping down the side of her face, Neela gritted her teeth, expecting the Rathian to mow her down regardless.

To her surprise, the Rathian didn't charge at them. It stood on top of its nest, squinting its eyes and studying this small band of hunters. Then it turned its eyes on her. Not knowing how, Neela got the impression that the Rathian is impressed with her bravery and loyalty to her team mates in the face of certain death. But that didn't diminished its annoyance in the least.

Slowly lowering its tail, the Rathian settled itself comfortably on its nest, its huge golden eyes looking at Neela all the while. The head of the baby Rathalos popped back up above the edge of the nest and squawked once again at her.

"Please... We mean you no harm," Neela said aloud to the wyvern, "We are just here to retrieve what is rightfully ours."

Just as Jax felt the tingling sensation raising hackles of hair behind his neck, Jax heard Gron breathe to himself, "By the gods, Neela is talking to the wyvern."

Still having difficulty trying to see, Jax shook his head slightly in an attempt to clear his fuzzy head while he replied Gron. "So... Neela talks to Tiger all the time, I don't see the difference here?"

"Are you daft, Jax? Look at her!! Neela's 'TALKING' to the wyvern!!", Gron hissed.

Shaking his head one more time to clear his head more, Jax looked up and was relieved to note that his vision was slowly coming back to him. Focusing his yet blurry sight on Neela in front of him, Jax watched silently for a few minutes as Neela continued talking vocally with the wyvern.

Then suddenly, when his head and vision finally cleared, the realization knocked him with the force of a thousand hammers. Neela is talking with the wyvern. Even more amazingly, the wyvern seem to understand every word of hers.

In the past when Neela 'talks' vocally with Tiger, it was always only with small words like "Good Boy!". The only time you really feel Neela and Tiger engrossed in conversation was when you see the both of them, touching each other lightly by the forehead 'thinking' to each other. When that happens, anyone close to the both of them will feel this tingling sensation flowing from the base of their skull down their spine. And with the tingling sensation, one can almost feel which tingle was Neela's 'voice' and which was Tiger's.

Not in this case however. Probably out of desperation and anxiety, Neela wasn't even aware that she was talking out loud to the huge beast instead of through her mind like she usually does with Tiger. What probably knocked the two young men senseless most was the realization of the wyvern responding to her words.

"Please, we are not here to harm you or your youngling." Neela continued, "We are just here to retrieve the hammer."

A long moment of tingling followed and Neela seemed to be struck speechless by the wyverns reply. Opening her mouth at first, her jaws worked by no sound emerged. Eventually, she shut her mouth and stood there dumbfolded.

"Neela!" Jax hissed and motioned for her to come to their side. Neela understood and glanced at the relaxed wyvern, who remained comfortably settled on the nest, eyeing Neela's every move. Feeling that the wyvern was harmless at the moment, Neela slowly edged her way closer to Jax.

"What is it, Neela? What did it say?" Jax queried softly.

"She wants us to provide proof that the hammer belongs to us."

'She?' Gron thought to himself in alarm. Neela talks like the wyvern is a human. The thought made him terribly uncomfortable.

Jax pondered a while and understood Neela's hesitation in replying. If they were to say they dropped the hammer near that small pond, common sense would show that the pitfall trap was set up by them. A pitfall trap that the Rathian could have fallen into. Jax was pretty sure the wyvern will not take kindly to that possible fact.

Then an idea came to him. A highly risky idea.

"You stole our kill." Jax said aloud to the wyvern and pointed at the dead Yian Garuga, "I believe thats a fair enough trade for us to have our hammer back."

The wyvern rose its head, and peered menacingly at him. Jax stared at it right back in the eyes, determined to show he is not in the least bit afraid of her. Again, Neela felt that the wyvern appeared very impress with her small group.

Neela cocked her head at the wyvern again when another wave of tingling sensation assaulted their senses.

"She's now offering a deal for us to consider instead." Neela paused and listened more.

"She said it will be a deal that we cannot afford to refuse. A deal that will kill two wyverns with one blow."

Gron paled. " Kill two wyverns??"

"I think she meant that as a figure of speech, Gron" Jax said patiently to him. Turning back at the wyvern, Jax said in a neutral tone of voice, "We are listening."

A slower tingle flowed through them as the wyvern spoke slowly on what it had in its mind. And as the tingle stopped, Neela grew pale. Turning to face the others, Jax visage grew grim as he noted Neela's wide fearful eyes.

Neela started to talk, But Jax cut in before she could utter a single word.

"She wants us to kill the Silver Rathalos." Jax said in a strangely calm voice.

Neela snapped her mouth shut, surprised at how Jax knew. His tone of voice showed his words as a statement, more so than as a guess. She began to shudder slightly. Gron stood dumbfolded at the back, wondering at how things could have turned from bad to worse in just a few moments.

"But we can't fight...." Neela started. Jax raised his hand and stopped her in mid-sentence however. Turning to face the huge wyvern, Jax stared at it calmly in the eyes.

"Why should we do this? No hammer in the world is worth this." Jax said without emotion in his voice. Gron flushed an angry red but kept silent. Gron reminded himself that Jax knows what he is doing. Another long moment of tingling followed and Neela grew even more pale, if that was even possible in the first place.

"She says..." Neela swallowed hard and tried to continue again, "She says that a few more days from now, the Silver Rathalos will have the entire swarm start attacking villages around this area."

Neela paused, giving Gron and Jax time to gasp in disbelief. Villages around this area includes Pokke Village. Visions of these massive monstrosities descending on Pokke village popped into his head, visions so real he reeled physically at the thought. Fighting these wyverns will be deadly different in comparison to fighting others of their ilk. Rathians and Rathalos prefers to attack from the sky, rarely from the ground. With the lack of any quality bowguns or bows in the village made from wyvern materials to counter such an attack, the destruction of the village will be absolute.

"There were some who disagreed with the idea....." Here, Neela paused again and glanced at the dead azure Rathalos lying in the dark part of the mound. Her action gave a clear indication as to what happened to all those wyverns that opposed the Silver Rathalos's plan. Neela shuddered.

"Why? Why is the Silver Rathalos planning to attack all the villages in this area? What did we do to deserve annihilation?" Jax asked the Rathian with a strained voice, finding it hard to talk through the big lump in his throat.

"She says..." Neela cocked her head as she listened to the Rathian's words. "She says that no one knows. No one wants to take the risk to ask. But she believed that the Silver Rathalos is receiving orders from someone, or something. And the only way to stop it is by...." Neela stopped talking, unable to continue.

Jax remained silent. Then he slowly turn and face Gron, staring at him in a peculiar way. But Gron have known Jax long enough to know whats in his mind. This matter is too serious to ignore. It's no longer just the matter of getting back the hammer. This is about saving the lives of everyone in Pokke village. Gron slowly nodded at Jax, indicating that he is with him in this. Jax smiled thinly at him gratefully. He is going to need all the help he can get.

Turning to look back at the Rathian, Jax looked at her with a defiant face. Neela paled when she realized Jax's intention..

"We'll do it." Jax announced, confirming Neela's worse fear.

Seemingly pleased with this response, the Rathian immediately relays the location of the Silver Rathalos to Neela. Looking like she is ill, Neela nodded at Jax to let him know she got the directions.

Nodding back in return, Jax turned around to gaze up at the entrance hole. Spotting little Miki still up above with their backpacks, Jax was about to shout at him to throw the pack with the ropes in it down when a loud crash behind him startled him.

Whipping around with his hand above his shoulder gripping his weapon, Jax glared first at the Rathian and then at the object that had landed behind him. Neela and Gron likewise in a similar alert position.

Slightly sunk into the ground, Gron's hammer stuck there with its handle sticking upwards. Momentarily puzzled by this, Jax looked back at the Rathian. Jax didn't need Neela to tell him what the Rathian was saying when he felt the tingle. The wyvern's eyes showed the words as plainly as daylight under a mid afternoon sky.

"Take it. You're going to need it."

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End of Chapter 21

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	22. Chapter 22

a big big thank you to legend striker for

editing my chapter for grammar mistakes and stuff..

you're the man, dude

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Chapter 22

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They trekked all the way back to their cave camp in a mind numbed state. By the time they reached the campsite which was located not far south from where they set up the pitfall trap, it was only a few hours away from dawn.

Mindlessly setting about preparing their equipments for the morrow, none of them really felt like they knew what they were doing. It felt almost as if they were trying to delay the inevitable.

"Alright, everybody get as much rest as you can. We have to build up our strength for tomorrow." Jax said quietly. "I'll settle for first watch."

Nodding mutely at him, Gron settled down in his sleeping bag and was soon heard snoring away softly. Neela settled down to get some sleep and she sincerely tried. But the thought of what they were about to embark on the next day kept intruding into her thoughts. She remembered every little detail of the silver Rathalos as it scoured the sky high above, its massive wing muscles heaving and flexing to keep its bulk air-born.

Finally giving up the pretense to sleep, Neela sat up on her sleeping bag and noticed that Jax was no longer keeping watch at the cave entrance. Quietly slipping out of the cave, she eventually found him sitting with his back pressed against a tree, staring up at the few stars winking high above.

"Jax?"

"Mmmm?" Jax didn't even turn around to look at her.

"I'm having trouble sleeping." Neela said softly, clasping her hand before her and staring down at her feet. Jax turned around then and his eyes softened.

Sensing movement from Jax, Neela looked up to see him motioning at her to come closer. Hesitant at first, she finally gathered her courage and went forward to grasp his hand. Pulling her down slowly towards him, he had her lay her back on him as he wrapped his arms around her.

The warmth from his body felt pleasant to Neela, and she remain in this embrace a while longer, loath to break the peace and silence. But eventually, she just had to ask. She sat up straight and half turned to look at Jax.

"Jax? Aren't you afraid?" Jax was silent a few moments before he replied her.

"Of course I am. I'm always afraid. Afraid that you and Gron might get hurt one of these days and I won't be able to do anything about it. Especially you." Jax replied with a warm gleam in his eye.

Blushing slightly at the change of direction in their conversation, Neela lowered her head slightly in embarrassment. Feeling a stir, Jax diverted his attention and caught Neela's lady-like gesture. Jax found himself reaching up and brushing her hair from her face. Hurriedly reaching her own hand up and clasping his, Neela held on tenderly.

"Its just that sometimes I feel that things are moving too fast," Jax finally confided to her, "One day we are just going around minding our own business hunting Giapreys and the next day, we find ourselves fighting big wyverns and having the entire fate of the village on our shoulders. Sometimes I feel like I'm losing control of the situation, losing my mind."

Neela shuddered a little then, remembering the time when Jax killed the Gypceros with his eyes and scythe blade blazing a fiery red. Soft winds blew gently among the treetop, setting the leaves to rattling against each other.

"Is it true? Are we …... betrothed?" Neela suddenly asked hesitantly.

Caught off guard by this unexpected question, Jax couldn't answer her momentarily but his hand unconsciously tightened its grip on her hand slightly. The question of how she knew this never crossed his mind at that moment as he gazed steadily into Neela's bright sparkling eyes.

Lowering her head as though ashamed of her rather impertinent question, Neela started to stammer.

"I'm sorry. I have no idea why I..." But she stopped as Jax gently puts a finger under her chin and lifts her head up to face him. Neela gasped softly to herself as she gazed into his eyes. Under the low light conditions, his eyes seemed like liquefied silver, gleaming with love and compassion.

"Promise me, Jax. Promise me you will never leave me.." Neela whispered softly. Whatever else she wanted to say blew out of her mind as Jax leaned closer and kissed her full on the lips. Up above in the treetops, leaves rustled gently and small birds murmured sleepily to each other, sharing soft secret words.

The words "I promise" sighed gently with the wind.

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The morning dawned the next day with everything but grace. Jax wanted to take precautionary actions in the event that his team failed to achieve their objective. Originally intending for Neela to head on back with Miki to Pokke village to warn the Elder about the Silver Rathalos plan as well as to ask for any possible reinforcements, Jax was considerably astonished to find not only Neela opposing the plan, but Gron as well.

"Just what do you expect the both of us to do when we encounter the Silver Rathalos?" Gron asked sarcastically, then he pinched his voice and spoke sharply, "Oh, Mister Rathalos Sir, can you stop flying around for a minute and let me and my buddy here take a whack at you with our weapons please?"

Though Jax was highly annoyed by Gron's method of expressing his point, he couldn't disagree with it. Whether he admits it or not, the fact remains that Neela as a bow user will be invaluable in this hunt, especially against a creature that rules the skies.

Watching Jax crunch his brows tightly while trying to think of some way to dissuade the others, Neela swallowed her irritation and reminded herself the real reason as to why Jax wanted her out of this hunt.

Walking forward, she reached out and held his hand, forcing him to look up and into her eyes. "I'm staying." Neela said calmly. Jax sighed softly, knowing from the look in her eyes that she's as unmovable as a mountain now. Giving another soft sigh, Jax turned to look at Miki. As if sensing what Jax had in mind, Miki look down at his clawed feet, his ears drooping at the sides. Jax shook his head mutely to himself.

"Still, I think one of us should go back to warn the villagers." Jax mumbled to himself.

"I'll go."

Surprised, Jax looked at Miki. Though looking like he was about to burst into tears at any minute, Miki resolutely blinked back his tears and stared at Jax with shaky confidence. Walking towards him and kneeling down so he can face him at an equal level, Jax laid his hands gently on Miki's shoulder.

"Miki, you don't have to do this if you don't want to." Jax began gently, feeling extremely guilty at having to entrust this dangerous role to the gentle tiny creature.

"Miki will go, Miki want go get help. Help Neela. Bring back help. Help kill monster." Miki said bravely, albeit with a slightly shaky voice. Jax smiled proudly at the brave little Melynx.

With more than a few misgivings in his heart, Jax gave Miki some additional potions to carry in his pack and watch him run off. Jax wasn't worried about whether Miki will find his way back to Pokke village, he's more worried about 'what' may find Miki along the way.

With a deep sigh, Jax turned back to his main objective.

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Hiding among the trees, Jax peered at the cave entrance intently, trying to detect any movement within its dark depths. Judging the distance from the forest perimeter to the cave to be a good seventy to eighty feet apart, it almost felt like the forest was reluctant to get close to the cave.

Sweat dripped slowly from his face down his neck, tickling him slightly. Glancing to his left at Neela who hid behind a tree as well, Jax waited for her to 'sense' for the Rathalos presence. Within minutes, Neela looked at Jax and nodded her head, indicating that the Rathalos was inside.

Taking a deep breath to try and calm his quivering nerves, Jax closed his eyes and tried to rethink over all their strategies for possible flaws. Prior to locating the Rathalos lair, Jax had distributed all hunting peripherals to Gron and Neela. Among those were potions in case of injury and a new item called a Flashbomb. The new item was introduced to Pokke village by Tylor, it was supposedly able to emit a great flash of light that was capable of blinding wyverns for a short period of time. Useful in cases where the option of fleeing is necessary, Jax and his team mates had yet to use one so far in their hunts.

Having three in their supply, Jax distributed one to each party member. Jax also gave Gron his last Shock trap, which is going to be the most integral part of their plan against the Rathalos. Knowing that pure brute force was not going to prevail against a flying wyvern, Jax had devised the plan to lure the Rathalos into the trap. Once that happens, Neela would proceed to pelt the creature with arrows while Gron would move in and atempt to stun the creature further by hitting it on the head with his hammer. Jax's task would be to try and go for the wings, possibly tearing and crippling it such that flight would be an issue for the wyvern.

After talking it over with the others on this plan, they all agreed that it was possible. Now here they are, ready to put the plan into action. Nodding at Gron, the both of them slowly moved from tree to tree. Neela hung back, her bow at the ready. With trepidation, Neela watched as Jax finally reached the edge of the forest.

Upon reaching the perimeter, Jax waited a minute or so, peering into the cave once again, trying to spot for any signs of movement within. Seeing none, Jax once again nodded at Gron. As they slowly moved out of cover, Jax prayed fervently that their precaution to mask their scent with holly juices was adequate enough.

Neela watched quietly as the two young men continued proceeding forward at a slow pace. Not even half way close to the cave entrance, a sudden wave of uneasiness overwhelmed Neela. A lethargic form of numbness gripped her hard, almost making her drop her bow. Opening her mouth to shout a warning to Jax, she found herself breathless and unable to utter even a squeak. Subconsciously, she screamed Jax's name in her mind.

To her surprise, a surprise that swept the numbing fear from her limbs, Jax turned back and looked at her.

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"Jax!"

Turning around to look at Neela, Jax caught the shocked expression on her face. In an instant, Neela raised her bow, aiming in between both Gron and Jax. Without knowing how, Jax knew they had to get out of the open.

"Gron! RUN!" Jax screamed at Gron.

Stopping at mid step, Gron looked at Jax, puzzlement written all over his face.

Losing patience in his worry and anger, Jax screamed at Gron to run again, pointing with a finger back at Neela. This time, Gron obeyed without delay. Sheathing his hammer back in its holster hooked to his back, Gron sprinted back towards the forest. Waiting for Gron to pass him, Jax looked once more at the cave and saw with wide unbelieving eyes as the Silver Rathalos burst out of the cave roaring.

Like one of those firework rockets that Pokke village traditionally shoots towards the sky during Year's End, the Silver Rathalos shot out of the cave with terrifying speed, all ready to explode on them with fury. Caught completely off guard by the sheer speed of the huge brute, Jax wasted not a second more and turned around, sprinting after Gron.

Thanks to her previous shock, Neela was able to gather her remaining courage and sweep away the last of the fear making her fingers numb. Raising her bow, Neela noticed with relief when both Gron and Jax started running back towards her, the furious Silver Rathalos hot on their trail.

Aiming for the eyes, Neela fired several rapid shots at the rampaging wyvern. Without even slowing down at all, the Rathalos charged on, its small head bobbing up and down and sideways on its long sinewy neck. With that erratic movement of the head, most of the arrows cracked against the side of its face, missing the eyes and doing little to no damage. Snapping on impact, the arrows did nothing more than angering the wyvern further.

With just a few feet to spare, Gron and Jax made one final leap into the safety of the forest. The Rathalos charged on still, giving Neela the impression that it was going to plough right through the forest after them. Pelted with arrows relentlessly, the huge creature made a sudden leap into the air just a few feet short of crashing through the trees, generating a wind so strong it knocked Neela off her feet to land on her back.

Propelled by its massive leg muscles, the Silver Rathalos sliced diagonally upwards and broke off several thick branches. Scrabbling back on their feets, both Jax and Gron ran towards Neela and hauled her away by the arms just as one big branch came crashing down very near to her.

With their hearts pumping hard inside them, the three hunters quickly settled to their customary battle positions, each eyes looking upwards for any sign of the Silver Rathalos. Hearing the huge brute wasn't hard though.

By slightly changing the way they used their wings, Rathalos and Rathians of any size can fly through the air, causing a loud booming sound to emanate whenever they beat their wings. Jax imagined the panic the sound would cause if a whole swarm of these wyverns descended on an unsuspecting village.

Right now, unconcerned over stealth, the Silver Rathalos circled the small patch of forest, rocking the air with booming sounds. The sound echoed around the inside of the forest however, making it hard for the young hunters to determine in which direction the wyvern was currently at. Catching sight of movement, Neela nocked her arrow and aimed at the location. Then she caught sight of movement from another position above. Biting her lips in concerntration, she tasted blood but ignored it.

"Its no use, Neela, don't waste your arrows firing it from here. You won't get a clear shot because of the tree leaves and branches." Jax said tensely, trying to think what to do next.

Gron stood quietly by, his huge hammer in his hands for all the good it will do. His eyes roamed the treetops, but his ears were waiting for Jax to come up with a plan. But before Jax could think of one up, the Silver Rathalos made the decision for them.

A great blaze of flame descended not some ten feet to the right of Gron. The intense heat instantly caused several trees to burst into flames instantly, spouting out choking smoke and hazardous fumes. Instinctively grabbing at Gron to pull him away from the lethal fire, Jax was about to pull both Neela and Gron in one direction when another blast of hot fire descended before him, again blocking their escape.

"Damn it, Jax, the damn thing is herding us towards the clearing!" Gron shouted at Jax in an effort to make himself heard above the roaring flames and whooshing smoke.

Coughing under the thick smoke, Jax refused to give in and started to pull his friends in another direction, away from the perimeter leading to the clearing. But yet again, the Rathalos flew by and breathed a long line of fire ahead of them, causing them to back pedal away from the flames.

All of them hunching low to avoid the bellowing smoke hanging over their heads, Jax took a moment to look them both in the eyes. They saw the look and understood what it meant. They nodded. Their armor might protect them from the heat for the time being, but they are not doing an ounce of good in protecting them from the noxious smoke.

Hacking and coughing in the thick smoke, all three of them made a run for the clearing. By the time they made it outside, the small patch of forest was already a blazing inferno behind them. Running further a good few more yards until they were far away from the smoke, they halted and gasped for breath.

It was then that Jax realized he could no longer hear the Rathalos "booming" above them. Aside from the sounds of wood and green leaves burning furiously, there was absolutely no other sound to be heard. Glancing to his left, his eyes flew opened wide in alarm. The Rathalos was bearing down at them, its wings flared open with its murderous claws stretched out way in front of it.

Its action reminded Jax of how eagles swooped down from high above on some unsuspecting wild hare. Grunting and cursing himself for wasting time thinking of inane things at a time like this, Jax dug in his heels and sprinted forward. Reaching Gron first, still hunching there gasping for breath, Jax grabbed the armor by its collar and yanked Gron backwards off his feet.

Arms flailing in the air, Gron shouted out in surprised as he fell flat on his back, his arms and legs akimbo. Whirling around in alarm at Gron's shout, Neela twisted around just in time to see Jax sprinting towards her. Leaping the last few feet, Jax hugged Neela protectively as he knocked her off her feet. With a rush of leathery wings, The Rathalos claws descended on them.

Its right leg missed Gron completely as he lay flat on the ground, but its left manage to slash through the rear of Jax's Cephalos armor, barely missing piercing through his waist but snagging on the armor. Without even landing, the Rathalos began to beat its wings again, lifting back into the air with Jax and Neela hooked to its talons.

Having dropped his scythe in his sprint to save his comrades, Jax hung gamely onto Neela, just as she hung desperately on to him with one arm, the other still managing to hang on to her bow. The Rathalos whirled around in the air, delighting in causing its passengers to lose orientation from their unaccustomed flight in the air.

Jax struggled briefly to free himself, but with both his arms hanging on to Neela and the talon piercing the rear of his armor, the task was impossible. Then with one final turn, the Rathalos settled on a new course of direction and Jax head reared in shock. The Rathalos was flying towards the side of its own cave dwelling.

Knowing he had no other choice available to him, Jax released his hold on Neela, not wishing to have her smashed against the rocks alongside with him. With her eyes wide open in shock, Neela fell with a shriek and landed heavily on the ground some twenty below. Rolling on the ground after she landed, her head knocked against a small rock and opened a small gash on the right side of her forehead.

After releasing Neela, Jax immediately whipped out his carving knife and began slashing desperately at his armor straps by his side. With just a few minutes to spare from being smashed at full force by the side of the mountain, the straps thankfully came apart and Jax broke loose. Falling down minus his armor, Jax crashed heavily against the side of the mountain and rolled down it in a daze.

Gron stood up and looked at the event unveiling before his horrified eyes, watching Neela falling from such a height and seeing Jax crashing against the mountain. Neela had landed almost at the dead smack center of the clearing, blood flowing freely down the side of her head. From the expression of pain on her face and her feeble attempt to get back to her feet, an attempt that only had her sitting back down again, grasping at her ankle in pain. Gron could see Neela was in big trouble.

Gron was suddenly back in the past, kneeling before his dying father. No matter how much he pleaded to his father to hang on, no matter how hard he grasp his father's hand, he couldn't stop the life from fading away from his father's eyes. Both situations left him standing numbly by, watching everything unfolding before his helpless eyes.

Lying flat on his stomach, Jax tried to push himself back to his feet, but a great rush of pain in his chest prevented him from getting back on his feet. Certain that he had busted a couple of ribs from the collision, Jax gritted his teeth in pain and looked up.

The Rathalos circled once then hovered high above the burning forest, eyeing the scene with satisfaction. Seeing Jax lying next to the mountain in pain and Gron standing flat-footed with a numb expression on his face, the Rathalos turned its attention to the one and only threat in this inferior hunting party.

Jax watched in helpless frustration as the Rathalos locked its gaze on Neela. Ignoring the wyvern's undivided attention, Neela crawled desperately towards her bow, which she had dropped when Jax unexpectedly released her while they were in the Rathalos's clutches. Groaning in pain and anger, Jax tightened his fist and tried to force himself back onto his feet. The pain was excruciating, causing Jax to succeed only in propping himself up by the elbows. Looking up, Jax was on the verge of screaming out in frustration when he saw something that made him pop his mouth open in surprise.

Finally reaching her bow, Neela quickly knelt on her one good leg and aimed her bow upwards, just in time to watch the Rathalos breathed one huge ball of flame down at her. Instinctively, she half raised her arms to ward off the incoming flames when a figure suddenly plunked itself in front of her.

Wearing plain but heavy metallic armor that shone silver under the afternoon sun, the figure smashed a long rectangular shield on the ground with one arm. With this action, two additional metal flaps slid outwards on either side of the shield, greatly extending its width further. The other arm held a Great Lance slanting downwards by the side.

Though surprised, Neela didn't resist when the figure suddenly crouched over her, almost flattening her to the ground as he raised the shield over them. Concave on the inner side of the shield, it covered them like a huge turtle shell. Not a second too late, the breath fire slammed against the shield with force, flattening them further against the ground.

Flaming droplets splattered all around the shield, scorching the air but otherwise causing minimal burn damage to Neela and the newcomer. Glancing up at the newcomer, Neela saw him gritting his teeth in pain and she soon found out why. The plain metal shield had heated up from the hot blast, the heat so intense that even the arm braces from which the newcomer held on to glowed faintly in red. The smell of burnt flesh tickled Neela's nose.

Soon as the flames around them burned itself out, the newcomer quickly rose, glaring above his hot shield at the Rathalos. Instead of letting his shield go, the newcomer held on even more tightly to the burning hot braces. A long section of his lance, too long to be covered under the shield, was now a pile of molten slag.

Enraged to find its victim apparently alive still, The Rathalos roared once in mid air and reared back its head once more. Seeing this tell tale sign of imminent attack, Neela swiftly grabbed her flash bomb in her pack and yelled at the newcomer.

"GET DOWN!"

Without any hesitation whatsoever, the newcomer obeyed without question and tried to duck out of Neela's way, thinking that she is about to shoot an arrow at the wyvern. Instead of a whistling arrow speeding towards its target, a round object flew over his head. Flying several feet above them, the object suddenly explodes with a shrill sound and the newcomer was suddenly blinded by the sudden intense light that was emitted.

Caught off guard before it could breathe one more blast at the annoying hunters, the sudden flare of light pierced its eyes painfully and caused it to lose all sense of orientation in the air. With its wings flapping out of sync with each other, the Rathalos screamed in sudden fright as it plummeted toward the earth. With a loud crash, the huge wyvern landed on its back and thrashed about feebly for a few moments, trying to regain its sense of balance.

Shoving the temporarily blinded newcomer out of her way, Neela knelt on her good leg again and nocked her very last arrow, the rest of it having been scattered all over the clearing as she got plucked off the ground earlier with Jax. But she hesitated when she realized she's not going to score a lethal shot with the wyvern trashing about like that. Before she knew it, the Rathalos was getting back onto its feet and turning an extremely pissed-off eye at them.

With a hissing shriek, the Rathalos charged at them. Again, Neela hesitated with her shot. With the wyvern charging ever closer now, the newcomer did not wait for Neela to shoot before he plunked himself fully in front of her again, his shield raised in a futile effort against the raging wyvern.

But just before the shield fully blocked her view, Neela saw someone she had forgotten in the battle.

Gron.

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The sudden flash of light did not affect Gron as much as it did the wyvern, being that he was much too absorbed in the past in his mind. He recalled his father looking at him as he slowly bled to death. His father had smiled at him, the pride showing in his eyes even as the light in his eyes was fast fading away.

Before he passed away, his father had snapped a necklace from his neck and placed it in his crying son's hand. Thin and simple, the chain necklace was attached to a little pendant. By opening the pendant, a small hand drawn portrait could be found inside. In the portrait, the picture of a young handsome man standing protectively beside a pretty looking lady can be seen.

Without a doubt in his mind, Gron knew he was looking at his father and his mother, something of which his father rarely talked to him about. And from the looks of things, his father won't have much time left to fill in the missing gaps.

Shuddering from his last few breaths, his father only manage to gasp out one last final words before he passed away.

"I'm proud of you. Always have, always will."

Then with a bright flash of light that cleared his mind and bring him back to the present, Gron caught sight of the Rathalos plummeting towards the ground like a meteor. Thrashing around briefly, the Rathalos eventually got back on its feet and glared furiously at Neela. Gron instinctively knew what the wyvern intended to do next, and the thought enraged him.

Roaring in anger, Gron whipped his hammer from his holster, swung it up and then down on the ground. So intense was he on his anger that he did not noticed his hammer bashing a great big hole on the hard ground. Then Gron charged in, fully intending to intercept the Rathalos just as it charged at Neela.

Jax, still unable to get up, was bound for an additional shocked surprise. Recognizing the newcomer, Jax could only gasp as he watched Gron racing to intercept the raging Rathalos. Amazed at the speed at which Gron was moving, Jax was further surprised as he noted the sudden change in Gron's hammer.

With his hammer held trailing behind him as he ran, Gron wasn't even aware of the dramatic change on his weapon. The hammer he wielded was made of a complete Kut Ku jaw. Spotting only two nostrils, two additional fan-like ears of the Kut Ku was plastered flat right behind those nostrils. Right now however, with Gron running at a speed that shocked Jax, a long trail of inky black smoke puffed out from the hammer's nostrils, the jaws slightly parted and the ears flared open and shivering rapidly.

Within a few feet ahead of Neela and the newcomer, Gron dug in his foot and swung his hammer just as the Rathalos's head came into his hammer range. With an extremely loud smashing sound, the hammer bashed the side of the wyvern's face, crushing it inwards and causing the entire head to snap forcefully to its right side. With its forward momentum broken, the entire wyvern body twisted to the side, losing its footing and flipping in the air; barely missing the top of the newcomer's shield by a few inches as it soared over their heads.

Soon as Gron made his swing, he toppled weakly and landed on his back, his hammer slowly closed its jaws and the flared up ears flattened behind the nostrils.

Ducking his head instinctively as he heard a crashing sound behind him, the newcomer was about to lift his shield and cover Neela from the back when he suddenly felt his limbs going all numb and weak. Slightly terrified at this, he looked down at his feet to see Neela aiming her bow towards their back.

With the arrowhead glowing a very distinct white in color, the newcomer got the impression that his sudden weakness was due to the arrow sapping his strength. Tearing his gaze from the uncomfortable sight, the newcomer watched as the Rathalos rolled on the ground once, its right wing broken by its collision with the hard ground.

Raising its head somewhat in a wobbly disoriented manner, the Rathalos shook its head once, causing its left eye to wobble crazily as it hung outside its socket by an optic nerve. The entire left side of its face had caved in from Gron's hammer blow and a constant flow of blood kept dripping from its wounds.

Opening its huge maw, the injured wyvern roared loudly in defiance at this indignity that it was being subjected to. Exactly the opening that she had been waiting for, Neela unleashed her arrow. Too fast to be seen by the naked eye, all that could be seen was a long trail of white light as the arrow went into the gaping maw of the wyvern and exited explosively from the base of its skull, raining the huge body behind with bloody bone fragments and torn flesh.

Simultaneously along with the falling dead wyvern's head, Neela released her bow and collapse on her back, her energy drained by that one final shot. Beside her, the newcomer gratefully released his hot shield and stood wobbly by, surveying the scene with grim mystification.

Off to one side, Gron laid flat on his back, his chest heaving up and down heavily from exhaustion. Far off to the other side, the newcomer spied Jax watching him with grateful eyes, nodding his head slowly in thanks. Closing in on Jax, the ever reliable little Miki went dashing to provide potion aid.

Then looking down, the newcomer saw Neela, also flat on her back. Clearly exhausted by her exertions, she was going to be just fine with some rest. Breathing in a deep sigh of relief, the newcomer collapsed onto his back, a wide satisfied grin on his face.

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Somewhere in the arid desert, Tylor stopped in his tracks and glanced off into the distance, his eyes narrowed in concentration. Ahead of him, a pack team of ten Popo's struggled against both the desert heat and their huge cargo, lumbering on without stopping.

Behind him, several unknown hunters with the addition of some wild wolves plodded on, pulling several big objects on wheels, covered with sand colored cloth canvas. Being more sensitive to the changes in the surroundings then their handlers, the big burly wild wolves also stopped in their tracks, their eyes tracing the same path as those of Tylor's.

Beside Tylor, the lady in her tight leather-like Remobra armor breathed in surprise.

"My my. Will wonders never cease. We've got ourselves another one." She commented with a cocky quirk of her lips.

Tylor grunted, his only reply to her. Motioning to the lady, who nodded wordlessly and loped on ahead like the wolves, Tylor continued his journey back to Pokke Village.

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End of Chapter 22

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	23. Chapter 23

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Chapter 23  
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They spent another afternoon in the clearing, waiting for their flare signals to be answered by the Pokke hunters that was assigned by the Elder as standby wyvern carcass transporters. They spotted Jax's signal flare and responded with their own in just a few minutes later. Aside from Neela and Jax talking softly to each other, Gron and the newcomer, Gil, remained stonily quiet from each other.

It took another few additional hours for the caravan drivers to arrive with their Popo-driven cargo caravan and when they arrived, all of the hunters stood silently by and gaze at the remains of not one Rathalos, but two.

About two hours prior to the arrival of the cargo caravan, the team of young hunters was shocked when Gron spotted four large wyverns on the horizon, heading in their direction. Having recovered his strength in those hours as they waited for the cargo caravan to arrive, Gron immediately prepared to defend his wounded team mates. Gil also braced his shield and stood by, ready to defend.

Neela, suffering only some scratches and a minor head wound that was immediately remedied with the drink of a healing potion, knelt beside Jax, trying to persuade him to let her heal his bruised ribs. But Jax would have none of it. Jax knew Neela was drained by her explosive arrow and would not permit her to drain herself further by healing him.

Just when the four wyverns came close enough to be identified, Neela went over to Gron and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Put your weapon away, Gron. She's not here to harm us.", Neela spoke with a very unusual tone of voice. Gil wasn't convinced but after a glare from Neela, he relented in the end and lowered his shield but held on to it nonetheless.

As Neela well knew, one of the wyverns turned out to be the Rathian they have met at the Arboria plains. The other two unknown wyverns, plain reddish colored Rathalos, carried a dead azure Rathalos in their talons. After lowering the stiff carcass close to the dead silver Rathalos, the two new wyverns didn't stay but took off immediately, apparently eager to head back to the plains. More than once, Neela caught the two new wyverns eyeing Jax distastefully as they slowly lowered the wyvern corpse.

Switching her attention back to the Rathian, she watched quietly as the Rathian walked right next to the dead Silver Rathalos and spat a small spout of flame at the head, blackening the shimmering silver scales with oily soot. Apparently satisfied with this small act of revenge, the Rathian turned back to look at Neela.

With sudden insight that came from nowhere, Neela gasped softly to herself which she quickly covered with her hand. Walking slightly to the front of Gron and Gil, Neela looked at the wyvern with a carefully expressionless face.

"You knew!" Neela said quietly to the huge wyvern, "You knew we were there when you killed the snared Yian Garuga. Thats why you took Gron's hammer, to see whether we would have the courage to seek you out for the hammer."

Surprisingly, the wyvern lowered its head almost shamefully and tried to cover it by preening on the underside of its huge leathery wing. Gil stood quietly behind Neela, but his face showed utter amazement at what he was witnessing before him.

Back at Pokke village, rumors began spreading in regards to Jax and his team. Rumors that included Neela where she was said to be able to talk with wyverns. Gil had ignored the rumors, classifying it as typical rubbish village talk until now. His quiet serene world had turned upside down back at the volcanic regions, this latest revelation finally implanted it into his head that his world will never right itself back up again.

Feeling the shorter hairs at the base of his neck prickling up, Gil watched on quietly as Neela "communicated" further with the wyvern.

In the end, Neela finally made a short bow of thanks at the wyvern. Glancing once at Jax behind the others, the wyvern then took off without any further words, heading back to her home to nurse her young.

Approaching Neela but keeping an eye on the flying wyvern, Gron asked, " Neela? Why did she bring us the body of her mate?"

Neela shrugged, " She only said her mate would have preferred it this way."

Gron slowly digested this new information and he found himself admiring the great beast. Facing the rapidly receding form of the green Rathian, Gron made a respectful salute. Turning around and still studiously ignoring Gil standing behind them, walked back to their temporary camp site to await the arrival of the cargo caravan.

Now with the arrival of the cargo caravan and nights shadow slowly creeping up on them, the small team sat around their small campfire as they watched the cargo caravan drivers struggle to load up the two dead wyverns onto their caravan. Despite being dead for weeks and having most of its flesh decayed away, the azure Rathalos was still a heavy remnant of its former self.

The hunters that came along with the caravan as a form of additional protection, cast lingering gazes once in a while at the team of young hunters as they worked on the corpses. Unlike in the past, the gazes are not hostile nor suspicious but sprinkled with a smattering of respect. None of them would have thought the slaying of such a terrifying beast was at all possible for any hunters.

At around midnight, the two corpses were finally loaded up on their caravan, which required on-the-spot modifications to cater for the extra load. Justin, the hunter left in charge of the entire caravan, appeared in the light of their small campfire and saluted. Gron was surprised at this since Justin is several years Jax's senior and clearly holds a higher rank than any of them.

"Jax, the caravan is ready to move out." Justin spoke quietly, as he always does.

"Now?!", Gron was aghast. They've just had a rough day and he was looking for a good nights rest, not up and around blundering back home in the dead of the night.

"Yes, if Jax's injury will permit us to. The Elder has ordered that we are to return as soon as we have everything secured." With that, Justin withdrew a map from his vest and spread it on the ground before him.

"Based on the map, we can go through the Plains of Arboria since it doesn't have much trees to hinder...", then he stopped. Jax had chuckled to himself when he mentioned the Plains of Arboria.

"What's so funny?", Justin asked tightly, annoyed.

"Forgive me, Justin. I am aware that the route you suggested is the most direct and obstacle-less path but I kindly suggest to you to consider the route you came through originally." Jax said quietly as he sipped from the potion bottle that Neela was holding out to him.

Sighing softly to himself as he felt the tinkling sensation spreading among his ribcage, Jax turned to find Justin glaring at him in annoyance, waiting for him to explain himself.

"Trust me, you don't wanna go through that plain." Jax explained seriously. "At any rate," Jax added, "I don't think myself and the others are in any condition to travel tonight."

Justin was about to blurt out his reply when he caught Neela and Gron looking at him with dead-set serious expressions on their faces. Shutting his mouth instead, Justin reconsidered and looked at his map again. Mumbling something unintelligible to himself at first, Justin looked up to find Jax staring at him with serious eyes.

"I suppose the caravan team is tired from their trip here too." Justin sighed to himself. "We'll camp here for tonight and move off tomorrow morning at first light. Is that alright with you?"

Jax nodded in reply.

Seeing Gron and Gil going about setting their sleeping bags, Justin nodded once and went back to the caravan. Jax was just about to settle down on his own sleeping bag when he felt something soft and furry patting him on his forearm.

"What is it, Miki?" Jax queried gently. The tiny creature didn't dare faced him and was looking at his feet, his ears drooping by the side of its head. A glance at Neela and Jax instantly knew why Miki was acting so. Instead of going back to Pokke village to warn the Elder, Miki had came back with Gil instead, an action that may well have saved all their lives.

"It's alright, Miki. We wouldn't be here alive if you hadn't came back with help." Jax said gently, smiling. Miki looked up then, the relief flooding its face unmistakable. In answer, Miki only smiled back, its eyes wet with unshed tears.

"Speaking of which," Gron moved in, his voice sounding particularly harsh in the dead stillness of the night, "Can someone explain to me how he got here so fast?" Gron pointed at Gil. Avoiding Gron's eyes, Gills self-consciously look at his shield arm and rubbed around the burn marks left behind by the scorching shield braces.

"Yes well, I think we are all wondering that question ourselves." Jax remarked softly. "I think it would be best for you to explain, Gil."

Gil kept silent. Somehow or other, despite having prepared a speech inside his head for this very moment, Gil found himself tongue tied to narrate his speech. Hearing Gron grumbling to himself softly in disgust, Gil plunged ahead. Neela glanced at Gron in surprise, not expecting the generally docile and friendly Gron to be so hostile towards Gil.

Jax only kept silent, for only he and Gil knows why Gron was behaving so. Jax snapped his attention back at Gil when he heard him coughing softly to himself in an effort to clear his throat.

"I... uhh... requested the Elder to let me join your.. ahem.. team." Gil finished lamely. Almost instantly, Gron made an explosive snort and stood up.

"I'm going out there for some fresh air." Gron shot over his shoulder and went beyond the the circle of light radiating from their small camp fire. Keeping his eye on him, Jax saw Gron walking further away a few paces from the light and sat on the ground, staring at nothing in particular.

"That still doesn't explain how you got here so fast, Gil." Jax tried again after diverting his attention back at Gil.

"Well.. uhh..," Gil tried to clear his throat again and kept his eyes on his burnt wounds still, "When you didn't come back last night, the Elder sent me to look for you. I was at the trap site near the pond clearing when I bumped into Miki."

"I see." Jax was silent for a while before he asked again. "And how did the Elder responded to your request?"

At this, Gil sighed. "She told me that the decision lies with you, not her."

"Ahhh." Jax was silent as he mused over this new predicament.

"Why us?" Jax asked again and took another sip from the potion soon after.

"I want to grow stronger, Jax", Gil replied while staring down at the ground, not realizing he was not really answering Jax's question, "I was of no help at all back at.." here, he coughed, trying to clear the lump in his throat.

"I couldn't do anything for my brother, Jax." Gil looked up then, his eyes shining wet. "I need to grow stronger." He finished resolutely.

Jax kept silent and took another sip, studying the young man at the same time. Gil was a typical Pokke village guy, around Gron's height, younger than Jax by months. However, unlike the other Pokke villagers, which sadly included his recently departed brother Charles, Gil never showed any distrust nor dislike for both Gron and Jax since the beginning.

Well toned in body musculature, Gil's left arm, his shield arm, was slightly more heavily built in muscle than his right. Jax deduced that this slight difference was due to the strained imposed from having to wield a large heavy shield. With short cropped auburn colored hair, Gil looked extremely boyish and doesn't look like someone his age at all.

"I'm going for some fresh air." Jax suddenly announced, surprising both Gil and Neela. Passing the potion bottle to Neela, Jax groaned a little as he slowly got back on his feet. Just as he stood up, he caught the disappointed look on Gil's face before he hurriedly shift his gaze back onto his injured arm.

Walking slowly towards Gron, Jax stopped short from the edge of the circle of light flickering from their camp fire and glanced at Gil.

"Anyway, thanks for saving Neela's life." Gil didn't reply but kept his gaze on the ground, rubbing his burnt arm.

Sighing softly to himself, Jax walked out of the circle of light.

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Gron was sitting out in the dark when he heard small stones crunching underneath a boot. Knowing exactly who it was, Gron ignored the soft coughing and little noises made.

Jax stood a while and rubbed his arms together to ward off the chill night air. Glancing at Gron's hammer, Jax recall seeing the amazing transformation it underwent when Gron charged after the Silver Rathalos. Knowing now that Gron had the same inner ability that both Jax and Neela had as well, Jax began to to wonder about the word Destiny again, the very same words that Tylor had used when he revealed most of the truth about their origins for the very first time at the Sacred Rock of Pokke village.

Seeing that Gron was going to continue ignoring him, he went over to sit on a small rock adjacent to Gron's.

"If you're here to persuade me to let Gil into the party, stuff it. He comes in, out I go. End of story." Gron said in a flat monotone when Jax coughed softly one more time.

Not in the least bothered at all by this sudden declaration, Jax nonetheless remained quiet a few minutes more, knowing by experience that by doing so, Gron annoyance would have evaporated some and allow a certain level of reasoning to penetrate his stubbornness.

"Remember the time the local boys broke into your house and stole your hammer?" Jax said mildly.

Gron's only reply was a snort. Remember? This is the main reason why I will always hate Gil and his brother with a vengeance, Gron thought to himself vehemently.

Though not spoken out, Jax well knew what went through Gron's mind at that moment. There was one time while Gron was still a scrawny teenager and not long after his father had passed away, a small group of local boys with Gil's brother, Charles leading the way, broke into Gron's home.

They had carried Gron's hammer and hid it somewhere in Pokke Farm with the very intention of not letting Gron find it ever again. After the theft was discovered by Jax and Gron, a search was ensued when they "chanced" upon the guilty group hanging about by the popo stables, jeering at them and making remarks about hammers being such a poor choice of a weapon.

Enraged and all ready to take on them single-handedly, Gron was held back by Jax while the group laughed and jeered further before going off to their little games. Despite all these, Jax remembered Gil looking pale and uncomfortable during these proceedings. He also noted that Gil did not join in the taunting and jeerings of the small group.

After a whole day of heart breaking futile search for Gron's hammer, Jax had left Gron back at his home and went off in search for the Elder, certain that she would help in persuading the brothers to return the hammer. Before he reached her however, a certain help had came along and told Jax where to recover the missing hammer.

"I never did tell you how I found your hammer, didn't I?" Jax said softly. Gron turned and stared at Jax then, his eyes wide and unbelieving.

"Seeing that you understand what I mean by that, the final decision will be yours, Gron." Jax smiled gently at Gron and gave him a good natured clap to the back. Just as Jax stood up and was about to walk away, Gron stopped him.

"Why? Why didn't you tell me this earlier?" Gron asked in confusion. Jax only shrugged in reply.

"He made me promise not to tell you." Jax replied simply. Seeing Gron growing more confused, Jax added, "He probably didn't want the news of him helping us spread and reach his brother's ears."

Seeing that Gron had nothing further to say in regards to this, Jax turned and started to walk back to the camp. Taking only a few steps, Jax stopped again.

"And he did risk his life to save Neela's." Jax added softly over his shoulder at Gron, then he walked away and left Gron behind with his thoughts.

Just as Jax was settling back on his sleeping bag, Gron walked into the firelight soon after. With the soft light of the camp fire throwing dancing shadows around, Gron stood where he was and looked at Gil.

Unaware of Gron looking at him, Gil continued rubbing his sore arm gently. So deep was he in his thoughts that he was completely unaware that his ruined lance had rolled close to the fire and its handle had started to smolder from the heat. Quickly running over and snatching the lance from the fire, Gron turned to find Gil looking at him, startled.

"If you are going to be of any use to the team, you had best take good care of your weapons first." Gron said as he held out the lance to Gil. Surprised at first, Gil gradually realized the implication of Gron's words. Giving Gron a big wide grateful smile, Gil took hold of his lance.

Smiling discreetly to himself, Jax settled down on his sleeping bag and his eyes were just starting to close sleepily when he heard Neela calling him.

"Yea? What is it, Neela?" Jax yawned sleepily and looked at Neela. Neela's wide staring eyes and pale complexion was not what he expected to see.

"What's wrong?" Jax asked hurriedly, worried that some injury she had suffered from the battle was bothering her. Sitting up, he reached out and touched her hand. Her hand felt as cold as ice and Jax shuddered in sudden fear.

"Not.. nothing..Just wanted to ask you whether you're sure you won't let me heal you." Neela said softly and managed a brave but shaky smile at Jax.

Something's wrong, Jax found himself thinking but for the life of him, he couldn't tell what it was. He eyed Neela a minute longer which made her shift uncomfortably. Smiling a less shaky smile at him again, Neela patted his hand assuringly.

Smiling in return, Jax relaxed and figured that she was probably just tired. Lying back down, Jax fell into a deep sleep almost instantly as Neela watched him quietly.

When she was certain that Jax was really asleep, Neela bowed her head and let her golden hair slip forward to hide her face, fearful of Gil and Gron spotting the tears pooling in her eyes. Shaking slightly almost uncontrollably from her fear, she tried to reasoned with herself over what just happened.

How can this be? Neela thought panicky to herself. It's just like that time before the Rathalos was about to burst out of the cave hole at Jax. That moment had troubled her deeply and she had decided to test it again a moment ago.

She hadn't called out his name out loud. She had called his name in her mind.

And Jax heard her.

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End of Chapter 23  
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	24. Chapter 24

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Chapter 24

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As it turns out, the cargo caravan didn't take the route through the Plains of Arboria the next day. Without further questions on why they shouldn't take that route, Justin had opted to take the route they originally used. It's slower by far, but after a very accurate guess from his conversation with Jax, also the safest by far.

The trip required the caravan team to go through the desert however. With swarms of Cephalos roaming around, that fact could have deterred most travelers. But the hunters at Pokke village had grown skillful and confident. This was mostly due to the training they have been undergoing for the past few weeks.

With the live Kut Ku's that Jax and his party have been bringing in to the arena, it provided not only much needed training for the fresh hunters but also materials for the making of armors and weapons. Even now, most of the hunters assigned to escort the caravan was decked out in brand new shining Kut Ku armor.

The presence of Jax and his team mates might have a little something to do with the caravan hunters boosted confidence as well. If they can take down a fabled ferocious Silver Rathalos, whats a little herd of Cephalos going to do against them.

Nonetheless, Jax didn't take any chances. Issuing orders to his team mates, he had them guard the four corners of the caravan. Gron guarded the front right corner, Neela the front left while Jax guarded the rear left and Gil the rear right. Seeing the young hunters taking extra precautions against any possible trouble, the caravan escort hunters decided to be vigilant as well and kept their eyes peeled for trouble.

The whole trip was uneventful however. Jax took the time to study Gil more. With plain metallic armor, Gil was forced to wield his twelve inch long carving knife during this trip, what with his lance being useless after having its tip melted off by the Silver Rathalos's fire breath attack. The same goes for his shield. After fending the same attack that melted his lance in the process, some inner mechanism within the shield must have super heated and fused together, causing the shield to fail in retracting back its extended side panels.

Catching sight of Jax watching him, Gil gave him a small smile and a nod of his head after which he then resume keeping a watchful eye around the caravan. Jax smiled to himself then, glad that he and Gron had accepted him into the party. Gil had submitted under his leadership without any problems at all and followed instructions given right down to the last letter.

Facing forward, his gaze fell upon Neela keeping pace up front of the caravan, his brows creasing as he looked at her. Something was bothering Neela, that much Jax could tell. But he has yet to find out what. Any attempts to question her on this would have her teasingly punch him in the gut and giving him a seductive look.

"You're not worried over me now, are you, Jax?" Neela had laughed when Jax blushed. She would then run off to keep a sharp eye to the front of the caravan. But Jax didn't miss the worried look she had soon as she turned her face, thinking that Jax wouldn't noticed.

There was another occasion where Jax found Neela acting very peculiar. While stopping to rest beside some rock side in order to avoid the hot desert sun, Jax had caught Neela staring intensely first at Gron, then later Gil with her brow creased in concentration. Whatever she was trying to do, both Gron and Gil was unaware of it and continue in their small talks undisturbed. And when that happened, Neela would sigh softly to herself, the disappointment and confusion on her face unmistakable.

Despite some minor delays, the caravan made good time and reached the Pokke arena well before dusk. By day, the arena became the training area for hunters eager to improve their wyvern hunting skills. By night, it became the butcher site. Any wyverns succumbing to their injuries were butchered right next to the arena for their hides and materials. With the number of touches used during the night, the site was lit as bright as day.

Leaving behind the two dead Rathalos to the hands of the butchers, Jax and his team proceeded up the tall mountain, eager to be back to their comfortable beds at Pokke village. They were to be denied this simple pleasure however.

Soon as they reached the entrance gates, Jax and his team was requested to attend the Elder immediately. At this Jax and the others gulped in sudden fear, realizing they may be in for another good scolding. They did disobey their original orders to bring in live Kut Ku's and went after Gron's hammer after all.

It didn't look any better when the Elder appeared to be ignoring them when they finally reached the Sacred Rock, staring out at the distant snowy mountains as usual. Jax found himself wondering over this briefly since Tylor also tend to stare at the mountains at occasions. And as usual, a few minutes after their arrival, Jax's father appeared with crockeries of chicken soup again.

This time, not even Neela griped about the food and ate her share with her usual gusto. Food rations, though enough to sustain them with essential nutrients and kept their body satiated, did little to soften their hunger much. Everyone wolfed down their share and eventually settled to wait for the Elder to call for their attention.

"They have arrived.", the Elder suddenly spoke, startling everyone present. They all look at each other blankly except for Neela. She only glanced at the direction of Pokke Arena though she would be unable to see it.

"Tylor", she murmured softly to herself.

Sure enough after another hour or so, the tower sentries spotted Tylor's hunting group slowly making their way towards Pokke village. Tylor had left with only Nemesis for the hunt, but now he came back with a large group of people. The large group also hauled along several large carts covered with sand-colored canvas.

By the time they reached the gate entrance, a large crowd of local villagers had already gathered there including Jax and his team mates. With a gasp, Gil caught sight of his badly injured uncle being carried along on a stretcher by two burly unfamiliar hunters and ran towards them. With a nod from Tylor, the two hunters carried the injured man, with Gil walking worriedly by the side towards the Sacred Rock.

Along with Tylor, another fifty or so unfamiliar hunters came through the gate entrance and deposited the carts they have been hauling in the middle of the road, taking the time to rest from their labor. All of them wearing daunting pieces of armor made from various types of wyvern materials and wielding weapons of various intimidating designs, they inspired awe and a great deal of fear from the locals.

Their rest was short lived however when Tylor gestured at them wordlessly and pointed towards the Pokke farm area. With no complaints or grunts of hesitation, the hunters immediately hitched up their carts once again and haul the heavy burden towards the designated area. With this action, Jax could see that Tylor was their undisputed leader at present.

"Who are those people?" Gron walked up to Jax from behind and asked in a whisper.

"Survivors of the various hunting villagers that got eradicated the same night our village got destroyed." Jax replied knowingly. Neela shivered slightly as she wondered how Jax knew this bit of information.

As the other hunters moved off to their assigned task, only two unfamiliar hunters remained with Tylor. Seeing most of the other villagers getting bored of the sight and moving towards the Sacred Rock, Jax and his team mates walked up and greeted the imposing man. And as he did so, he studied Tylor's two new companions.

The first one was a male human. With bushy unkempt orange yellow hair fitted underneath a small cap, a equally bushy mustache and beard graced his facial features. The most noticeable feature of the man was his big saggy gut. Jax noted amusingly to himself that the man probably hadn't seen his own two feet for years due to his protruding gut. Despite his jolly looking appearances, the way he grinned gave Jax the impression that this man was not to be trifled with.

The weapon the man wielded may have something to do with this impression as well. A hammer type weapon, the bulk of its head looks like thin strips of metal wound around to shape like a ball. With sharp spikes jutting outwards on numerous spots, its inner section contain nothing but just hollow air. Despite its hollow structure, the dull heavy clanging sound it made as the man plunked it down head first onto the ground showed it as being extremely heavy.

As Jax approached, he noted the man staring at Gron with a speculative eye, finally nodding to himself as though the man liked what he saw. Diverting his attention to Tylor's other companion, Jax found himself breathing softly in awe..

The other companion was a female. With jet black hair that reached all the way down to her waist and a thin streak of silver flowing down it from her forehead, the female's figure could well be said to be perfect. With well-proportioned full bosom, small waist and curved hips, her figure's perfectness seem enhanced by the tight fitting Remobra armor she wore. Her most distinguished feature was a tattoo running along the right side of her face. Like lightning bolts branching upwards, the tattoo raced up from her neck and covered a small part of her cheek.

"Windrunners." Jax murmured to himself.

Like Jax's people, Windrunners was rumored to be extremely vicious race of hunters that knows no fear. Disliking heavy armor, they tend to wear only the skins and hides of the creatures they hunted for a living. Living under the harsh conditions of the Chros Desert, they were also reputed to be a very hardy race. Normally hired as escorts or letter carriers, Windrunners were famous for being able to run for days without slowing down to eat or rest.

However, the Windrunner's history does not have a happy ending. It was eradicated from the face of the planet the very same night Jax's village got attacked, possibly by the same force as well. Only a very small handful of survivors managed to escape the onslaught.

From the entrancing features of her figure, Jax tried to study the type of weapon she wielded. With only two handles sticking out from either side of her rounded hips, Jax couldn't tell what the weapon looked liked but deduced it to be a dual blade type of weapon. With the way the female rested one of her hands confidently on a handle, Jax also deduced that the female will be extremely adept as to its use.

Catching sight of Jax studying her, the female's jet black eyes sparkled in pleasure and she smiled a crooked grin at him, causing Jax to blush and lower his eyes. Neela noted this and turned storm black in her face, glaring angrily at the female.

Laughing at Neela's reaction, the female turned to Tylor.

"My oh my, Tylor, why didn't you tell me he is such a looker?" the female cooed seductively.

"Nice catch you got back there, Jax.", Tylor spoke to Jax instead, ignoring his female companion. Jax smiled back at Tylor in appreciation.

"I would like you to meet my friends, Lady Lyra," Tylor gestured at his female companion, " and Belrossa.", he then gestured at the man. At the introduction, the fat man stepped forward and grinned at them.

"You can call me Guz," The fat man said, " and in case you are wondering why call me Guz when my name is Belrossa," here the man stopped for a while to glare at them menacingly, "don't ask."

Caught short from this remark, Jax and the others only made a polite bow of respect to him. Booming in laughter from their reaction, his fierce aspect dissolved in an instant. Walking up to Gron, the man grinned in a friendly manner.

"Pardon my asking, boy, but are you by any chance Merlon's boy?" Guz asked cheerily.

"You know my father?" Gron could only gasp in surprise.

"Since your father and I are from the same village, aye, I dare say I know your father, lad." Guz huffed proudly. "Come look for me later tonight and we can talk more on this." Guz added after seeing the hungry look for knowledge in Gron's eyes. Gron immediately nods an affirmative.

"Alright people, talks over." Tylor suddenly cuts in, "Lets head on over to the Sacred Rock. I think Neela will need to be there to see what the Elder is about to do."

Blinking in confusion, the small group did as was told and found the Elder tending to Nemesis when they arrived. Gesturing to Neela with his eyes, Tylor indicated that she should keep a watchful eye on what was about to happen next. Jax noted that Guz didn't follow them but headed for the Pokke farm instead.

Neela found herself gazing at Nemesis in pity. What once was a tall and proud man was now a shadow of his former self. Slightly gaunt from his ordeal with the Black diablos, Nemesis laid on the snow covered ground with a thin trail of blood trickling out of his mouth. Studying the wounds the tall man had suffered in the battle, Neela was amazed he manage to survive the journey back.

Except for his breast plate, most of the tall man's armor were removed and Neela could see the multitude of freshly healed scars that crisscrossed his arms and thigh. His most life threatening injury seems to be from a long piece of shredded metal, heavily barbed at the sides, jutting out from the left side of his chest. Unable to remove the metal piece due to the barbed edges, Tylor had left it alone, relying on Nemesis's strong will and liberal drinks of enhanced healing potions that Lady Lyra had brought with her to keep him alive.

Going to the Elder's side in case she needed her help, Neela heard the Elder whispering to Nemesis to report on what had happened at the desert. Confused as to why the Elder had wanted the dying man to do something so mundane, Neela soon found out the true reason for this.

Everyone gathered watched in respectful silence as Nemesis related slowly and painfully on what had happened during his mission. With his eyes closed and blood constantly dripping from his chest wound, Nemesis had to stopped several times to breathe in painfully.

And as he slowly narrates his report, the elder took a few moments to let Nemesis get absorbed in his current task. When she deemed it ready, she brought both her hands up and begun to rub them softly together, all the while breathing softly at her hands through her mouth. Everyone caught their breath as her hands slowly begun to glow a very distinct bluish in color.

Slowly, she laid one glowing hand on Nemesis' chest, close to the wound while her other hands gently grasps the torn metal, causing it to slowly glow a bluish color as well. Taking another deep breath to steady her hands, the elderly woman then gently starts to pull it out. Nemesis continued talking, totally unaware that the deadly piece of metal was being removed from his wound slowly.

By the time Nemesis had finished his report, the three inch long piece of shrapnel was successfully removed and he began to breathe a lot easier. Drained by her effort, the elderly woman motions to the litter carriers standing by and Nemesis was quickly moved to the infirmary. Everyone witnessing this amazing incident could only stare at the Elder in awe and respect. In all these years since they had known the elderly woman, none knew she was capable of such an amazing feat.

"Jax, you and the others go home and rest up. I shall be over to your house for some discussion later tonight.", the elder said slowly as she sat down heavily on the snow covered ground.

"Yes Ma'am." Jax replied dutifully and started to head home with the others. Before he gotten far, he felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned to find Gron looking at him.

"Jax, would it be alright if I go and look for Guz?", Gron asked softly. Knowing what Gron had in mind for the newcomer, Jax smiled gently at his friend and nodded his head.

Returning a smile, Gron wasted not a minute more and headed for the Pokke farm, which now doubled as their temporary training ground as well. With a wide swath of land jutting outwards just beside the local homesteads, the farm looks like it was suspended in mid air, floating above the clouds that drifted pass by the side. With winter blowing its chill gales at this time of the year, the farm was currently bare of crops.

Gron found it occupied by the hunters that had came along with Tylor. Busy with the cargo which they had unhitched at various positions on the farm, the new hunters begun to assemble something that looks vaguely familiar to Gron.

Shaking his head incredulously at this, Gron set about looking for Guz. He found Guz nearby, directing the other hunters on what to do. The fat man greeted Gron with friendliness and soon found themselves talking about any and everything. From the veteran hunter, Gron learned of additional methods of hammer usage and Guz was even kind enough to carry out a few demonstrations for Gron's benefit.

But as Jax had already correctly deduced, Gron real purpose in seeking out the veteran hunter was to learn more about his own origins. From Guz, Gron heard numerous tales of his father's exploits. Some of those exploits sounded too fantastic to be true in nature, but Guz assured young Gron that they were all true. And with each tale, Gron's pride for his father grew.

Then their talks turned to his village and here Guz's face turned dark with suppressed anger. Like Tylor, Guz was out on a hunting assignment when their village was attacked in the dead of the night. Few survived and from those that survived, they had bandied together with survivors from other villages that were also destroyed that fateful night.

Keeping silent a few minutes to pay silent tribute to their fallen people, Guz stood there and stroke his beard slowly, his mind deep in thought. Sitting on a piece of cold rock, Gron withdrew his pendant and opened it once more to gaze at it sadly. Gron was half expecting the fat man to inquire over his father's untimely demise but was not surprised when Guz didn't. He probably would have heard the sad tale from Tylor, Gron mused sadly to himself.

Rubbing his thick finger over the small portrait found inside his pendant, Gron found himself wondering over his mother.

"Guz. Do you know my mother?", Gron asked softly, his gaze on the hand drawn still image of his mother.

"Aye lad, I do." Guz replied reluctantly after a few minutes passed.

Watching the young lad raising his head to look at him, Guz could see the hunger in Gron's eyes. Before Gron even opened his mouth, Guz knew instinctively what he was going to ask next.

"Is my mother still alive?" Gron asked with a quiver in his voice.

Guz sighed softly to himself. Tylor had warned him over this and had instructed him, no, threatened him to keep a lid on the subject around Gron. But seeing the hunger in the young man's eyes, Guz begun to wonder whether he has the right to keep the truth from the lad.

Gron sat very still on the rock, not daring to move, not daring to make a sound, not wanting to miss the answer. Even the wind seemed to have died down around him, just as eager as Gron to hear the answer.

Sighing quietly to himself once again, Guz only nodded.

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The elder was discussing further plans of defense with Jax and Tylor and was just heading into the topic of "negotiating" with the black Diablos to obtain a safe traveling route through the desert in exchange for its freedom when the front door banged open loudly, startling everyone within.

Gron stood by the doorway, his breathing heavy from running as well as from excitement. Eyes wet with tears, Gron ran a hand hastily over them and tried to focus on Jax.

"My mother's alive." Gron said simply and then he was gone, off racing back to his home to pack his belongings.

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End of Chapter 24

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	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

* * *

Jax took a deep relaxing breath of fresh pine scented air. The gods knew how much he needed this break. Opening his eyes reluctantly, Jax came back to reality with a jolt.

The past few days had been a veritable nightmare to him. It all started as soon as Gron made it known of his firm decision to seek out his mother. Clearly displeased with this interruption to her plans, the elder had pursed her lips in silence and glared at Jax, expecting him to stop Gron from carrying out his private little mission.

But the elder's displeasure was nothing in comparison to Tylor's ire. Smashing his double fists down heavily on Jax's living room table, an act that came near splitting the home furniture in half and startling everyone in the room half out of their wits, Tylor had stalked out of the room wordlessly.

Half expecting Tylor to be out demolishing half the town, Jax had dashed out to prevent disaster and left the elder behind to fume in silence. Neela had dashed out immediately after Jax, knowing that he will need her aid in calming down Tylor. What they did not expect was to find Tylor standing just outside the front door.

In the middle of the street stood Guz, stroking his beard nonchalantly and returning Tylor's glare without a hint of fear in his eyes. The tension in the air crackled with intensity and Jax wouldn't be surprised if the snow around the nasty showdown starts to melt.

"I've warned you about this." Tylor hissed at Guz.

"The lad has the right to seek out his heritage." Guz answered in return, "You may consider this a waste of time, but I assure you, it's not a waste of time for the lad."

Tylor remained silent. He only stood there glaring at Guz stonily.

"Now if you got nothing else to blast me with, I'll be over at the tavern." Guz spoke roughly and started to turn to walk away. Then he stopped and looked at Tylor over his shoulder. "If you are up to a free for all bashing to vent your 'displeasure'," Guz emphasized on the word, "I'll be happy to oblige you there." With that, he left. Jax had to silently admire the fat man's courage in standing up to Tylor's fury.

Without any more words, Tylor stalked off on his own, leaving behind Jax and Neela. Both didn't particularly felt the need to follow the tall man at all. Turning around to head back into his home, Jax nearly tripped over the elder who stood quietly behind them.

Expecting himself to be blasted to pieces by the elder, Jax was surprised to find the elder calm with a thoughtful look on her face.

"Don't take too long a time on this one, Jax", the old woman said simply. Taking this as a good sign, Jax could only nod quietly at the old woman. Nodding back at Jax wearily with a sad look on her face, the elder wordlessly walked off back to her favorite spot. Bothered by her look, Jax had kept his gaze on the small figure as it slowly faded out into the darkening night.

Six days later, Jax found himself in the middle of nowhere, deep inside the territory of the great city of Arleria where according to Guz, will be where Gron will find his mother. It was a journey that could have taken at least two weeks to reach had it not been with the aid of Lady Lyra. With him was his team and Tylor as well, which Jax hadn't counted on originally to come along on this journey.

Along with the group of veteran monster hunters that Tylor brought back to Pokke with him, Lady Lyra had brought along her village Varge Hounds. Looking like massive wolves, these beast grew to the size of small horses and are capable of bearing riders on their backs. And just like their owners the Windrunners, they are capable of covering great distances within a very short time frame. Barrel chested with sharp fangs and corded muscles that looked like heavy ropes, Jax was fairly certain that the hounds have other uses besides being mounts.

Jax and his team mates found the ride on these hounds exhilarating. All they had to do was grab the hounds by their bushy manes and tuck their legs by the sides of the hounds. The wind brushing by his face as the hounds raced out washed all previous worries from his mind. Only Tylor refused to mount the hounds, preferring to keep up with them on his own two feet. Though slower than the hounds, Tylor never failed to reach them for more than an hour later when they finally stopped to rest the hounds when dusk approached.

On the sixth night, Tylor startled the whole lot of them when he sent the hounds back to Pokke village with a word of command. Well trained, the hounds had left swiftly without delay, giving little time for Jax to react to the situation fast enough to prevent the hounds from leaving.

"From here onwards, we walk." Tylor had said simply just as Jax opened his mouth to question over this. Jax would have inquired more as to why they should walk from here onwards but Tylor gave him a very nasty look they made Jax shut his mouth wordlessly.

Shrugging to each other, the team made camp wordlessly and soon a cheery fire blaze forth, shedding much needed warmth and light in the chill night. Settling down to a cold and quiet dinner munching on dried Kelbi venison, the group stared at the burning camp fire, seemingly mesmerized by its dancing fingers of flame.

Looking over at Gron, Jax could tell by how quiet he had been this entire journey that Gron was very excited at the prospect of finally meeting his mother. Excited as well as daunted. Jax could tell by Gron's creased eye brows that Gron was working on several speeches in his mind that he would have to use when he finally meets his mother.

Somewhat pleased that Gron finally have some kind of objective with his life, Jax swallowed the last piece of his meal and wiped his oily fingers on his leggings as he turned his gaze back to Tylor. Seeing the tall man calm and not in a murderous mood, Jax risked asking him a question.

"Tylor," Jax spoke softly but the tall man didn't even lift his eyes to indicate he heard. Gathering his courage some, Jax plunged on. "Why do we need to walk from here onwards?"

Everyone stopped whatever they were doing and waited for a reply.

"Because we are now within the boundaries of Arleria."

Jax remained silent. Jax already knew as much about this with his recent consultation on their maps. But what Jax wanted to know was why. After a few minutes of silence from the tall man, Jax felt a little annoyed and tried again.

"So......" Jax dragged the word slowly. But he stopped when he saw Tylor suddenly grinning from the side of his mouth.

Within an instant, there was several loud metallic sounds and Jax suddenly found his little camp site ringed by numerous sharp tips of platinum colored lances. Everyone except Tylor immediately leaped to their feets, hands reaching for their nearest weapon at hand.

"Halt! All of you." Jax quickly got to his feet, his hands raised so the mysterious assailants could see his empty hands. Glancing back at Tylor, Jax was disconcerted to note that Tylor didn't even bothered to get up on his feet, the sickly grin still pasted on his face.

Concentrating at the problem at hand, Jax tried to scrutinized on who the assailants was, a task made difficult for the assailants had stayed well outside the light shone by their camp fire. All he could see was the tips of the lances surrounding his small group. Slender at the shaft, the tips ended into the sharp features of a Griffon's head, their beaks straight and sharp enough to pierce the toughest of any armor.

With a start, Jax realized this was no band of robbers or thieves as he had first suspected. The Griffon was the symbol the people of Arleria used as their nations depiction of honor and justice. Working in his mind rapidly, Jax tried to come up with a reasonable and polite way to address the group when Tylor decided to stand up.

Daunted by his height and aura of danger, several lances behind Tylor backed up a step and small gasp of astonishment could be heard. Almost instantly, a sharp bark of command rang out from the front of Jax's position and the lances that had backed up earlier suddenly aimed their tips back at Tylor, ready to pierce him without hesitation if Tylor so much as reach for his massive great sword perched on his back. Jax silently marveled at the discipline of the group, further convinced that this group was no band of robbers or thieves.

Tylor only stared back at them, daring them to try and attack him, the sickly grin still on his face. Jax again admired the tall man's obvious lack of fear of dying. Just then, Gron step into the full view of the campfire, both hands raised on either side of him, motioning a halt to both parties.

"We don't want any trouble. We are just on a peaceful journey to locate my relative." Gron spoke urgently, eager to prevent unnecessary bloodshed on this journey. As soon as Gron's face was illuminated by the firelight, a gasp was heard from the person who had barked out the command to his underlings.

From ahead of Jax, two of the spear tips slanted down a little as though the wielders had shifted their attention to someone standing between them. A couple of seconds followed and soon after, a figure walked into the firelight, flanked on either side by two soldier-like figures wielding the lances.

Jax was correct in his guess. The two soldier figures were clad in heavy plate armor, their chest plates heavily engraved with the symbol of the Griffon. The helm they wore covered not only their head, but a big portion of their neck as well, leaving only one long slit across the visage for them to see through. What looked like eagle wings sprouted from either side of the helm. Jax was amazed that these soldiers was able to sneak up on them noiselessly clad in such heavy armor.

From the two soldiers, Jax studied the one in the middle. Unlike the soldiers, this figure wore only a scale studded chest plate over clothing that Jax guessed a nobleman would wear. A long flowing midnight black cape rippled behind him. Fairly pale in complexion and sporting a thin mustache, this figure would be considered handsome back at Pokke village.

The man's gaze hovered over everyone in Jax's team briefly, but alighted on Gron the longest as he squinted his eyes.

"Please excuse me for this rude interruption to your night meal," the man spoke fluently in an educated manner, "But I would kindly request your kind self to introduce yourself." As an after thought, the man added, "My name is Alecson, son of Marquis Alexander of Arleria." Making a small bow to them, the man gestured for Jax to introduce himself first.

Jax introduced his party to the handsome nobleman, trying very hard to match his serious tone to that of the nobleman. But he got slightly distracted when he realized the nobleman was only partially paying attention to what was being said, his gaze still on Gron. The man only grew interested when it came time for Gron to be introduced, becoming more animated than before.

"And that's Gronicus, son of Merlon." Jax said lastly with a wave of his hand at Gron. A few minutes of uncomfortable silence reigned briefly as they waited for the nobleman to say something. The nobleman stood there quietly, his facial expression difficult to interpret.

"Forgive me for not explaining your situation first but I would like to ask Sir Gronicus a question with which I hope he will answer me with honesty.", the nobleman asked slowly and carefully, "You mentioned you were here in Arleria to look for a relative. Who?"

"I'm here to look for my mother." Gron answered carefully, not wanting to sound crude and stupid to this nobleman.

"And what would your mother's name be?"

At this, Gron screwed his eyebrows in concentration. He had asked Guz that and he had received an answer. But the name was difficult to pronounce and sounded very foreign to him thus he had some difficulty trying to remember it now.

"I think...", Gron squished his eye brows more and suddenly remembered, "I remember, her name is Lady Marianne."

At this, the soldiers that had ringed them with their deadly spears began to shift uncomfortably where as before they had stayed posed motionless without any sign of fatigue from holding their lances pointed horizontally at Jax's team. Intrigued by their reaction, Jax stared at the nobleman closely. The nobleman had stepped closer to Gron, his ears scrutinizing every little detail of Gron's story.

"What does she look like?"

Stumped, Gron searched in his mind on how to describe someone he had never met before when he suddenly remembered his pendant. Pulling it out lovingly from under his Plesioth scaled chest plate, Gron held it out to Alecson. Nodding gravely, Alecson accepted the pendant but appeared uncertain as to what he should do with it.

"There is a picture inside the pendant, a picture drawn by my father. I believe the lady in the picture is my mother." Gron said and gestured to the pendant to show how it can be opened.

Finally opening the pendant after a while of uncertain fiddling, Alecson brought the pendant closer to the fire to study the small hand-drawn picture clearly.

"Ye gods!" Alecson breathed softly to himself but everyone in the camp heard him. Turning around to look at Gron, Gron was disconcerted to see misty tears in the nobleman's eyes. He was further startled when the nobleman swiftly walked forward and suddenly gave Gron a heart felt hug. Jax and the rest could only look at silence, surprised at this turn of event. Gron only stood there motionless, totally clueless as to how he should react to this.

"The gods have answered our prayers," Alecson spoke when he finally released Gron from his hug and stepped back, "We have been waiting for your return, Cousin."

"Cousin..?", Gron wondered aloud but Alecson ignored his befuddlement. Turning around to face his fellow soldiers, Alecson looked at them with a fiercely proud look that also swelled with triumph.

"Sheathe your weapons." Alecson barked in a harsh commanding voice that Jax suspects was also used in the training grounds when training young squires. What he said next struck everyone like a thunder bolt, leaving them all stunned and breathless.

"Your King has returned!!"

* * *

Tonight was the same as all other nights here on the outpost. Clear cloudless night, a quarter of a moon shining radiant silvery light down on the old outpost station. Jarek would have loved to sit down, relax and count the stars like he used to when he was young.

Sighing softly to himself in regret of times long gone, Jarek shook his head to rid himself of old memories and walked his rounds as usual. Whenever he passed by any sentry keeping a bored lookout over the outpost guard walls, the sentries would quickly snap to alert attention and salute at Jarek before resuming their supposedly vigilant lookout.

Jarek would salute at them, make a few encouraging remarks on how well a job they are doing and then resuming his patrol. Inwardly, Jarek would question why they are keeping a lookout in some old distant outpost out in the middle of nowhere with no danger at sight for miles around. But he never complained over these private thoughts. It would set a very bad example to the soldiers under his command.

After forty or so odd years as a respected general in the Arlerian army, no one would have faulted him if he had respectfully declined from this boring task. But he didn't, and he have yet to figured out why.

_Not that it matters_, Jarek thought to himself. Certain that he can take a moment to laze for a bit without anyone catching him in the act, Jarek leaned over the guard walls and day dreamed. As he day dreamed, he studied the outpost like he always did when he is bored.

The small outpost is a three storey high structure, with equally high guard walls on either side of it. Guard sentries would patrol at regular intervals on top of these guard walls, keeping a lookout for god knows what is out there that they should be guarding against. Situated in the smack dab bottom center of a huge ravine, the outpost have been around even before he was still a young pup.

Giving the old guard walls a soft rap, Jarek snorted to himself when a particular brick, old and crumbling, shifted slightly on its slot. Old as it is, and though still used by the sentries, the outpost hasn't been maintained much all this while, the nobles of Arleria having deemed it more appropriate to use the funds elsewhere other than on a moldy old tomb of an outpost guarding against god-knows-what.

Pulling out an old smoke pipe and lighting it up, Jarek was puffing on it contemplatively when suddenly a small tremor rocked the small outpost. Small rocks can be heard shaking loose and tumbling down the steep ravine. With a hand on the guard wall to steady himself, Jarek looked around caution.

Earthquakes was not an uncommon happening here at the bottom of the ravine, but for some unknown reason, Jarek got a bad feeling from this particular tremor. Since the day before, very small tremors could be felt and as the day wore on, the tremors got steadily stronger and stronger. This most recent one felt almost like something big was approaching the outpost.

Snorting at this and wondering at his imagination, Jarek leaned once more on the guard wall and stared up at the stars once again. While looking at one particular bright star, the star suddenly blinked out as though it got obscured from sight. With a start, Jarek squinted his eyes harder and could faintly see the outline of what look like the silhoutte of an enormous mountain. Only thing was that this silhouette seems to be swaying side by side and getting larger by the minute. With that realization, another tremor, much stronger than the first, rocked the small outpost again.

Truly alarmed this time, Jarek started shouting instructions. True to the strict training of every Arlerian soldiers, every single soldiers quickly obeyed and rush to the guard walls. Some even rushed ahead without their armors on, having been waken from a sound sleep.

As per Jarek's shouted commands, several soldiers began bringing in more flaring torches and started fitting a device to them. Like a rice bowl in shape, the inner concave side was a silvery reflective sheen in color. Fitting a torch through a hole at the bottom of the device, it flared out a concentrated beam of light towards the front of the device.

With the soldiers shining these beams into the darkness, Jarek still couldn't see much of whatever is heading their way. All he could glimpse was something like the surface of a rocky mountain side. Only difference was, this particular mountain side seems to heave up and down as it steadily got closer.

Not taking any chances, Jarek shouted for the sentries to fire their bows. With over two hundred sentries crowding the guard walls, the arrows that sped towards the moving mass of shadow seemed like a downpour of rain. And like rain falling down against the side of a mountain, it did little but only to make tinging sounds as it bounced off the hard rock like surface.

Seeing the lack of any damage they did with their arrows, most of the archers stopped firing and only stared helplessly at the approaching horror. Unlike them, Jarek quickly grabbed the nearest sentry, shaking him viciously when the sentry failed to shift his horror filled gaze on the general.

"Tony, are you listening to me?", Jarek roared into the sentry's face. When he failed to gain the attention of the numb struck sentry, Jarek gave him a hard slap to the face. Another tremor rocked the small outpost and the sentry finally turned his head to look at Jarek, his eyes wide with fright. Jarek almost regretted his action when he saw the sharp red imprint of his slap and a thin trickle of blood dripping from the corner of the mouth.

"Tony, Listen! Get to the stables, use my steed NightStar and head on back to Arleria. Inform the Marquis of this." Stopping for breath, Jarek glance once more at the approaching shadow, visually judging the speed of the unknown entity.

"Go! Tell them this thing will probably reach Arleria in another two days time." Jarek shouted as the entity slowly got within range of the flaring torches set all around the guard walls. What he saw made him gasp in horror. So huge was the entity that only a portion of its head could be seen from the fire light. And what Jarek could see was one enormous maw filled with house sized jagged teeths with what appeared to be a horn at the tip of its nostrils, a horn so tall it soared high overhead way beyond the reach of the flaring torches. Turning back to face Tony, Jarek lost his temper in his desperation and gave him a hard shove.

"What are you waiting for??!! GO!!", Jarek shouted in exasperation and gave Tony a hard shove towards the nearest stairs down to the stables, "We will try and slow it down here. GO!!"

And with that, Jarek sprinted off and grabbed a bow from one of the sentries. Roaring in defiance in an attempt to bolster the courage of his fellow soldiers as much as his own, Jarek loosed an arrow at the gaping maw. Following his example, the other sentries followed suit and loosed as much arrows as they could.

Jarek knew their arrows was not doing any harm to the entity but he was determined to stay here in order to slow it down, hopefully giving additional time for the nobles at Arleria to come up with a plan for this emergency. All around him, true to the Arlerian spirit, every last sentry stayed with their general whom they have a great respect for.

Singing out loudly the hymn of their national anthem as he loosed arrow after arrow at the entity, his chest swelled with pride and drowned his fear as he heard the other sentries remaining with him on the guard walls start singing along with him. Arrows after arrows thunked harmlessly against the rock like surface of the entity.

Down below and racing away from the outpost on Jarek's horse, NightStar, Tony stopped briefly to look back when he heard faintly the hymn being sung. He caught sight of the entity lowering its head slightly and suddenly lunged forward. It's nostrils bashed through with ease as the ancient outpost gave way under the assault. Breaking apart like a toy castle, the massive granite blocks used in its construction burst apart and came crashing down in a torrent. So loud was the crashing noises made that Tony couldn't hear a single scream from any of the poor unfortunate souls falling to their deaths.

His heart gave a small lurch as he silently mourned the lost of his brethren who had bravely stayed behind and sacrificed their lives in an attempt to slow the entity down. Turning back around, Tony raced on ahead, his mind briefly wondered at the doom that will befall Arleria.

Behind him, the rocks continued to fall.

* * *

End of Chapter 25


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

* * *

"Forgive me, cousin, for intruding so rudely like this." Alecson said apologetically.

Gron only sat there quietly, his mind a complete mess from the shock of what Alecson had said earlier. Jax noticed the look on Gron's face and realized that he was still trying to assimilate everything that he had heard so far.

Where before there was one blazing campfire, there was now three. Alecson had twenty-four veteran soldiers with him when he "dropped" onto their campsite. All of them clad in heavy armor and not one of them had taken off their stifling helms. If given orders by Alecson, all his instructions were followed with strict discipline and swift efficiency.

Watching them taking turns patrolling around their campsite, Jax secretly marveled at their discipline and made a mental note to try and implement such behavior back home.

"I would have avoided doing so but things are not as peaceful as it once were in Arleria, I'm afraid." Alecson explained carefully. Nodding at him to show that he was listening, Jax waited patiently. Tylor had settled down to his customary sitting position with his eyes closed. Gron was sadly still sitting there with a blank look on his face while Neela and Miki both watched him with wide eyed wonder as well as with a little worry.

Gil busied himself with sharpening his new lance which Jax and Gron had pooled in their hunting incomes to purchase for him. Though he worked with his head low, Jax was fairly certain Gil listened to every word that was being traded between them. Gil's brand new shining shield, though not as large nor as sophisticated as his previous shield, stood leaning against a small tree.

Picking up a small stick, Alecson began tracing lines on the dirt ground. It was only after a while that Jax realized he was drawing a crude map on the ground. Peering closely at the drawing, the most prominent part of it would be a giant wheel shape drawing at the middle. Guessing that the massive wheel depicts the great city of Arleria, Jax focus his sight on the other smaller drawings beside the wheel. Dotted around the left side of the wheel were smaller squares and triangles, which probably indicated smaller cities or towns.

"This is my home city, Arleria," Alecson jabbed down at the large wheel drawing with his stick, showing Jax that his guess was correct, "and around here these parts," Alecson pointed at the various smaller squares and triangles, "are the numerous township and cities of our neighbour, Gobartia."

"Gobartia was once a great band of wanderers before they settled down as our neighbors and built their scattered towns and homesteads. Our wise forefathers had forged an alliance with them in the past and together, our military cavalry command and their fearsome foot warriors had fought numerous battles together against the great fire lizards, ensuring each others survival until the present time."

_Great fire lizards_, Jax thought to himself and he wondered whether Alecson had meant the wyverns and dragons of ancient lore, an ancient lore that have surfaced to haunt them once again.

"But lately," Alecson continued, "there have been accusations from the elders of Gobartia that the soldiers of Arleria were committing acts of terror on their people. Burning their field crops, attacking and killing their peasants."

"Have you?", Gron suddenly asked quietly, startling Alecson and Jax. Apparently Gron had settled things within his mind and finally felt confident enough to come out into the open with his thoughts.

"NO! Cousin, our people will never do such a thing!" Alecson said vehemently, his fierce eyes glittering with rage at the accusation, "Though the Gobartians insists that the insurgents wore the armors of Arleria, I shall not believe such rumors until I can spit at the evidence myself. I have trained every available soldier since I won my title and I swear to you cousin, they will never stoop so low as to attack peasants who are unable to defend themselves."

Gron looked around the campsite, took note of the patrolling soldiers and those resting nearby. Some had finally taken their helms off and Gron could see the pride in their faces as well anger at the thought that they were accused of attacking defenseless farmers and peasants. Looking back at Alecson, Gron nodded his head in apology.

Grinding his teeth and forcefully reminding himself of his manner to his King, Alecson nodded curtly at Gron in acceptance of his apology.

"With your arrival, cousin, everything will change. We will bring back peace and tranquility to both our Kingdoms and Gobartia. I just know it." Alecson said with passion, his eyes shining with his perceived vision of a peaceful home city.

"Why me?" Gron asked quietly, his tone of voice unusually calm, "What about your father the Marquis? Isn't he doing anything for our kingdom?"

At Gron's words, Alecson lost his glow of triumph and looked away swiftly. Jax and the rest heard him mumbling something unintelligibly to himself and it was after a while before Alecson finally faced them again.

"My father isn't doing anything to soothe the Gobartians of their anger." Alecson replied softly, his voice low and sounding off-keyed. "For all that he is doing at the moment, some might say that he is goading them into war more than into peace." And with that, Alecson gave a small sigh.

"I'm sorry, Cousin," Gron said softly, still a little bit unused to calling Alecson his cousin, "I'm just here to look for my mother. Everything else holds no meaning for me at the moment." _Especially when I arrived to find myself a king of a whole city_, Gron added to himself mentally.

As Alecson listened silently, he became even more convinced that Gron was the one he and his people had been praying for.

* * *

The morning dawn bright and sunny the next day. The team found themselves remarkably refreshed even though they had slept in as little as five hours for having stayed up late to talk more with Alecson. After a satisfying breakfast where they ate strips of steamed bacon that Alecson had brought along with his patrol, they were further shown another beautiful sight as they readied for the trip into the City of Arleria.

Brought over a small rise, they beheld the lovely sight of one of the wonders of Arleria. Well known for its special breed of war horses, Jax didn't doubt that if Alecson was to show off this fact, he couldn't have done it better with the ones that stood before them. Standing before them, a collection of horses, pure white in color with no other colors to mar their perfection, stood tall and proud. The only signs that showed them as living beasts was their eyes as they followed the movement of Jax and his party and the twitching of their long silky tails.

Neela could only gasp in wonder as she stepped forward and laid a gentle hand on their neck. She could feel the hard muscles shift under her touch and she reveled in the feel of the soft silky mane running between her fingers. The morning sunlight shining down on the horses seem to emanate a heavenly glow of aura around them.

Jax had heard of these marvelous creatures of Arleria through his father. Thoroughly trained and obedient, they were famous for their ability to wade into any battle with unwavering discipline. After seeing these horses for himself, Jax didn't doubt in the least his father's words that Arleria was one of the most powerful cities in this continent due to its powerful military cavalry power.

Surrounded by all sides by nothing but a vast fertile land, any foreign army foolish enough to consider invading Arleria will find themselves skewered at the ends of twelve feet long lances held by veterans riding atop these magnificent horses. Of course, no sane country would solely rely on cavalry itself. Based on Alecson story telling last night, Arleria had allied with their neighbors the Gobartians whom provided foot warriors. For long ages both sides had defended together against such invasions. Defended each other until now.

"Please mount up, everyone," Alecson explained slowly, "We can get to Arleria before the sun sets with our steeds."

"What about your men?" Gron asked, indicating the armored veterans standing behind them.

"They'll remain here to continue patrolling the woods. They will be fine." Alecson spoke with confidence.

Upon seeing Gron making a disbelieving face, Alecson continued, "They still have some of their horses with them, the horses can carry two of them if the need arises." Alecson laughed lightly again when Gron carried on with his disbelieving facial expression. "Besides, once we reached Arleria, these horses will set back out to them. They are trained to always return to their respective owners unless instructed otherwise."

Still disbelieving that the horses are such well trained, Gron nonetheless shrugged and mounted the first horse he approached. The horse stood stock still as Gron mounted. Solid as a rock, Gron could feel the hard muscles under the velvet like skin. Giving the magnificent creature a soft pat to the neck, Gron glanced up and noticed Alecson smiling proudly at him.

"Have you ever ridden a horse before, Cousin?" Alecson asked, the infectious smile still on his face.

"Not really. Why?"

"Aunt Marianne was quite the horse rider during her young days," Alecson replied with a smile, "and from the way your mounted the horse like a seasoned horse rider, I guess it runs in the blood, eh?"

Gron could only flush a little from both pride and embarrassment from these and quickly look away. Alecson's smile only grew wider.

Then it was a straight shot journey to Arleria. Like their trip on the Varge hounds, the ride on the horses was exhilarating and as usual, Tylor kept up with them a few paces back by running on his long legs, still insisting on keeping up with them on foot. For Gron however, he felt something different riding the magnificent steeds of Arleria. The thrill was there, but with the additional comforting feeling that he was finally where he belonged at long last.

Before they all realized it, a few hours had passed and they beheld the sight of the tall fortification walls of Arleria as the sun's lingering rays of light shone over it. Jax marveled at the height of the walls, wondering at how such a structure could have been built by human hands. On the sides of the walls, great carvings were etched onto it, depicting the everyday lives of the people of Arleria. So life-like was their expressions that Neela wouldn't be surprised to find them walking off the wall and towards them.

The frontal gate was even more amazing than the walls. With a height almost equal to half those of the towering walls, the gates was made of solid steel. Engraved on it was the figure of a fearsome dragon, the likes of which Jax had never seen before in his father's collection of dragon lore. Glancing at his other team mates, he caught them exchanging uncomfortable glances with each other.

Bringing out a small horn made from a ram, Alecson blew into it and the sound reverberated eerily around them. Within minutes, a low rumble shook the ground as the massive gates slowly swung open smoothly. Amazed that such heavy looking gates can swing open so easily, everyone including Tylor seemed mightily impressed with the sight.

Through the gates, a huge gathering of people could be seen lining up the walkway. As Alecson and his "guests" cantered through, the crowd cheered loudly at his return. Some of them murmured to each other as Jax and his team pass by however, most of their alarmed gazes on the gigantic Tylor. Jax figured that their barbaric looking armor and fearsome looking weapons must truly be an unusual sight to the Arlerians.

Despite the rather cheerful reception to their arrival, Jax felt a small degree of tenseness in the air here. Mounted on the horses, Jax could see various peasants scurrying about in the background, looks of fear and anxiety on their faces apparent. Looking around, Jax noted that only Tylor noticed this unusual circumstance. Neela and the rest was too flustered and red-faced at the reception to feel the tenseness in the air.

Shaking the uncomfortable feeling away, Jax studied his surroundings. What he saw was mostly buildings. Lots of buildings. And not just any common cottage such as those found in his village. These buildings were tall, most of it at least five to six stories tall. And so pack full of people. Nearly all the windows were packed with children and adults, waving down gaily at Alecson, whom waved back at them politely.

The streets was neatly cobbled and cleanly swept. Frequent patrols were seen moving around and keeping law and order in check. Jax was impressed, despite the uncomfortable feeling gnawing at the edge of his mind.

All the way from the peasantry district to the Royal district, the small crowd trailed after them. Whispering and murmuring among themselves, the crowd was enchanted by Tylor's impressive height. Even Neela caught the attention of several young men, her youth and beauty foreign but enchanting to the locals. Blushing in embarrassment at the attention she was receiving, Neela caught the sight of Jax smiling teasingly at her from the front and she blushed an even darker shade of red.

But the crowds progress was stopped soon as Jax and the others reached yet another gate. Separated by another high wall, Jax was awed by the sight of many sentries posted at the top of the walls, their wickedly sharp lances glinting with the sun's dying light. Gate sentries at the bottom of the wall politely ushers the crowd to disperse but the crowd stubbornly remains standing idly by, gawking at Jax and the others. They gawked right up till the massive gates closed behind the Pokke hunters.

Before the brave hunters stood the magnificent sight of the Palace of Arleria. Built from a type of white marble that shimmered and glittered like diamonds, the wondrous structure drew a heart felt gasp from Neela and stilled Gron's heart painfully for a second. With numerous beautiful minarets at several points of its perimeter and single tall tower at its center, the hunters wondered briefly how such a fragile looking structure could stand so tall and erect.

And all along every sides of the palace were windows and balconies filled with nobleman and noblewomen enjoying the setting of the sun. This was made possible due to their high vantage points since the palace towered even way above the extraordinarily high fortification walls.

As Jax was studying this marvel of a building construction, he spied a man glaring down at them from one particularly prominent looking balcony. Even though the balcony was too far high up for Jax to be certain, he got the impression the man was watching them through narrow eyes and appeared extremely displeased.

"He's the Marquis, my father." A voice spoke softly beside him, startling him. Beside him stood Alecson, staring up towards the man on the balcony as well.

Without any further words, Alecson lowered his gaze and stepped towards the palace entrance. Jax paused where he stood for a moment, his gaze following Alecson thoughtfully. Lowering his head in worry, Jax walked towards the palace entrance himself. The look on Alecson's face as he stared at his own father troubled Jax a great deal.

It was not a look a son would give to his father. It was the look a man would give to a vile enemy.

* * *

End of Chapter 26


	27. Chapter 27

88888888888888888888888888888 Chapter 27 88888888888888888888888888888

As he approached the door, Gron felt numb and helpless. Even when Alecson gave him an encouraging smile and motioned towards the door, Gron found himself paralyzed from the neck down, unable to move for a moment. Though the indoors of the Arlesian palace was kept cool by the constant sprinkling fountains they saw on the way here, Gron found himself sweating profusely.

Giving Gron another encouraging smile, Alecson opened the door smoothly and it swung open noiselessly. Inside, a nursemaid quickly straightened herself, startled by the sudden appearance of guests. Glancing over and spotting Alecson, the nursemaid curtseyed at him, placed a plate of mostly uneaten food on a small table and hurried out the door at a nod from Alecson.

Gesturing at Gron to enter again, which he did in an almost robotic and mindless manner, Alecson gently closed the door behind him. Once inside, Gron stood stock still, feeling his heart pounding almost as rapidly as Wayne s hammer does whenever he was working hard to meet a deadline. Slightly darker inside, the rooms spacious windows stood facing the setting sun and silhouette by the dying light, a high backed elegant chair showed up starkly against the windows.

My Queen Aunt, Alecson spoke softly and bowed low. Gron, too terrified and confused to bow, only stood there staring at the chair, looking as though he could pierce through the chair s fabric with his eyes to catch a glimpse at the person sitting on it.

Now now my dear nephew, there s no sense to go with the formality and all. You know me better than that A thin and gaunt hand appeared at the side of the chair and gestured weakly, followed by the sound of sweet gentle laughter. Hurrying over, Alecson, grasped the hand gently and gave it a swift kiss.

Aunt Marianne, I ve brought someone here to see you. Alecson said softly.

Oh. The frail hand withdrew itself from Alecson s grasp and the soft patter of feet on the cold marble floor could be heard as the chair s occupant tried to turn the chair around to look. Alecson swiftly assisted in turning the chair around. Just as the chair started turning around to face Gron, the sun sets below the horizon and the room started to get dark at first. Then curious rod shape objects attached to every corner of the spacious room started giving off white light, brightening the room and giving Gron a clear view of the chair s occupant.

On the chair sat a frail and gaunt looking woman. Her long honey colored hair was swept towards the back and held in place by a bejeweled pin. Prematurely white hair showed up starkly against her natural hair color near the ears. Her eyes, despite the numerous fine wrinkles at the edges, were big and luminous. Except for her slightly thinner body frame, his father had captured the perfect image of his mother in the small drawing found inside his pendant.

At the sight of Gron, Lady Marianne quickly stifled a gasp with her hand and her eyes started to water. Reaching out her hands suddenly in an almost pathetic manner, Lady Marianne called out in a voice almost as heart rending as her words.

Merlon, My beloved! You ve come back to me!

Overwhelmed with sorrow at her words, Gron stepped forward and knelt before his mother. Holding onto her hands with infinite tenderness, Gron could only stare at a blurry image as his eyes pooled with tears.

But then Lady Marianne s eyes grew confused and she reached out to feel Gron s face. Smearing his tears all over his cheek as she traced her palm on his face. Just as she was about to run her hands through his hair, she suddenly snatched her hands back, staring at him in suspicion.

You are not Merlon. Who are you? she demanded suddenly, imperiously.

Unable to speak through the lump in his throat, Gron simply reached into his armored vest and pulled out the small pendant. Lady Marianne s eyes widened when she recognized it and held out her hand. Gron gave her the pendant wordlessly and watched with gentle teary eyes as his mother opened the pendant with a trembling hand. Crying openly as she looked at the picture found inside the pendant, Lady Marianne raised her eyes and looked at Gron directly in the eye.

You are my son. She declared suddenly, more as a statement than a question.

Unable to hold his emotions in check no longer, Gron laid down his head on her lap and wept openly, something he had no done since the day his father died in his arms. Her eyes softening at this and her heart finally understanding, Lady Marianne bend low to kiss his head and hugged him tight, tears misting her own eyes.

Watching the scene unfolding in silence and feeling that his presence is unwelcomed in such an emotional moment, Alecson stepped towards the door and left the room quietly, leaving the mother and son alone.

The inside of the palace was even more spectacular than the party could have imagined. Obviously made of the same pale white shimmering marble as those on the outside, a great many sides of the inner walls was covered by man sized mirrors surrounded by wooden frames delicately carve to resemble flowers or animals.

Any parts of the wall not covered by the mirrors, niches can be found. From some of these niches, fresh flowers grew and provided a constant smell of freshness in the air. Other niches held a constant flow of sprinkling water from miniature fountains. Assured by Alecson that the water is fresh and safe to drink, Neela took a sip and was surprised at the slight sweetness of the water.

As light started to fade from the setting sun, long glassy tube-like rods positioned at the top corners of the ceiling began giving off luminous light, brightly lighting the hallways and rooms. Being taller than the average Arlerians, Jax was able to reach up and touch one of these rods. It felt slightly warm to the touch and Jax could feel faint tingly sensations spreading from his finger tips.

LightCrystals. Tylor spoke knowingly.

The sudden knowledge made Jax widened his eyes in surprise. Lightcrystals are quite rare in existence and Wayne s armory notes indicated that the material could be used to imbue armors and weapons with special capabilities. Just as Jax was about to stand on his tip toe so that he could inspect the crystals more clearly, Alecson stepped out of the door he had just went through with Gron a few minutes back.

Gron? Jax queried in concern.

He s inside with the queen. I would suggest that we leave them alone for now. There is much they have to talk about, I suppose. Alecson replied. As for us, I think we should attend to my father, as he earlier insisted on.

Indeed. Tylor spoke with a ghost of a smile on his lips. Upon entering the palace entrance, the small party was immediately set upon by the palace guards. A minor crisis was started when the guards insisted that the party be brought to the Marquis immediately and that all weapons in their possessions was to be surrendered until they leave the palace. The situation might have turned ugly especially since Tylor refused to part with his great sword had Alecson not step up and speak on the party s behalf. His insistence in bringing Gron to the queen first confounded the guards as well, which goes completely against the Marquis orders. In the end however, the guards had relented when Alecson vouched on the party s good conduct and that he would bear the responsibility should anything unpleasant does happen.

Even now, the guards stood behind the party, making it plain clear that they are keeping an eye on them despite Alecson s assurances. Just as Alecson was about to gesture the party down another hallway, Tylor stopped him with a gesture.

There is something we need to talk about.

Mmmm? What about? Alecons queried.

The people we passed by on the way here at the streets, they seemed tense. Tylor spoke simply.

That is to be expected, Alecson replied with a soft sigh, News of the deteriorating relationship between Gobartia and Arleria is common knowledge among the peasantry now. Everyone s worried that a war will be eminent.

I don t think that s the only thing the people has to worry about. Neela suddenly spoke up from the side. Tylor nodded in agreement to her words.

Please explain. What do you mean by that? Alecson asked, a creased line of worry appearing on his forehead.

Before we even got here, I ve sense something disturbing. And right here in Arleria, the feeling is stronger. Miki felt it too. At this, Miki nodded his small head while clinging to Neela s back. Jax pondered at this, realizing that apparently he wasn t the only one to feel that something was terribly wrong here at Arleria. Only Gil stood idly by, a blank look on his face at this discussion.

Wyverns? Jax asked softly.

If it is, it s a very ancient one from the feeling. Neela answered uneasily. Alecson was about to burst out laughing at this, but he stopped himself when he caught the serious look on all their faces. Snapping his mouth shut instantly, Alecson was about to ponder on this further when he heard one of the guards detailed by his father coughing softly in the background, reminding them that the Marquis was waiting.

We will discuss this later on. It s best we do not keep the Marquis from waiting too long. Alecson said and gestured down the hallway.

Jax had always prided himself on his good sense of direction. But after Alecson had led them down various corridors and up numerous stairs, Jax found himself slightly confused as to where they are at the moment. After what seemed an eternity of walking, Alecson finally led him to a wide double door, made from heavy oak wood and heavily engraved with the symbol of dragons.

Tapping on the door lightly to signal their arrival, they waited a few minutes more before a muffled voice from the other side of the door bade them to enter. The guards following them from behind swiftly opened the door for the hunters. Like the massive gates at the outer walls of the city, the heavy looking door swung smoothly and noiselessly open. Once they stepped inside, two guards followed them in while the others remained outside, closing the door after them.

The room they stepped in was spacious and caused Jax to open his eyes wide in wonder. Even his living room back at Pokke village could not match the width and height of the Marquis s room. Every wall inside are filled with shelves loaded with numerous war trophies and keepsakes of the royal family. The most amazing item in the room stood at one corner. Held up by a tripod made of gleaming steel, a huge chunk of light crystal stood shedding its own light.

Logic would dictate that the crystal should emanate a huge source of light due to its size, but curiously, this wasn t the case here. Pulsating softly along with the other smaller light crystal decorating the ceiling of the room, Jax got this faint impression that the smaller light source garnered their light from this single huge piece.

Standing at the balcony over looking the magnificent city stood a regal figure. Dress in a dark blue colored tight jacket adorned with numerous official badges, the figure stood silently a few minutes more, purposefully tightening the tension that Jax could feel building inside. Then turning suddenly in a flourish, the figure strode back into the room.

Middle age with a receding hairline, the man sported a thin curly mustache and a thin face. With a cold and impassive expression, he studied the small party of hunters with disdain. Alecson bowed stiffly to him and Jax followed suit politely. Everyone but Tylor bowed to the arrogant man and his mustache literally quivered in anger at this. Crossing his thick arms across his impressive chest, Tylor didn t back down and stared down at the Marquis.

We do not have time to entertain tourists, Alecson. the Marquis spoke haughtily, not bothering to introduce himself nor welcome them. Please have your man escort them out of the city. The council of war is set to commence later tonight and for god s sake, please arrive on time for once.

With that, the haughty old man turned around to walk back to his official desk. Thus, he did not see Alecson grow pale in complexion at his words.

War Council? Why wasn t I informed on this earlier? Alecson literally hissed the words out through his mouth.

I just did. Those bastard Gobartians just raided and burned one of our local farmsteads outside the gates. Now send the barbarians off and we will discuss more on this later when you get back. The Marquis turned around to glare at his son.

What prove do you have that it was the Gobartians? Alecson asked angrily.

Send the barbarians away and we shall talk on this more later! The Marquis smote his fist angrily on his desk. Jax and the others could only watch in silence at this contest of wills.

I will not agree to this, Alecson roared in his rage with his fist clenched at his side, the Queen will not agree to this either!

You shall not involve my Queen sister with this, the Marquis shouted back in return, also unable to contain his anger, Considering her frail health and all, I will not permit you to bother her with this trivial matter

Before he could finish whatever he wanted to say, the front door opened. In came the Queen on a beautifully crafted wooden wheel chair guided by Gron. The Marquis gasped in surprise and turned deathly pale at her presence.

I m glad that you are taking a great interest in my welfare, Brother, the words Brother spoken with icy tones, but the last I recall, a war will be called anything but a trivial matter.

Though the Queen s words were spoken softly, her words struck her brother savagely and left him standing there shivering in consternation. Ignoring her shivering sibling, the Queen turned a chair around and studied the small party of Pokke hunters, her eyes finally resting on Jax. Shocked at the feeling of superiority emanating from this frail looking women, Jax could only bow in silent respect.

Guiding her wheel chair forward by rotating the wheels, the Queen came before Jax and her eyes glistened gratefully at him. Reaching out her thin hand, she grasped him by the arm warmly.

I wish to thank you for looking after my son all these years. The queen spoke softly to him. It seemed that the Queen would have bowed before him if she weren t sitting on a wheel chair. Jax flushed slightly at her words and nodded his head mutely. Gron stood smiling at the background.

Stepping forward, Tylor made a deep bow to the Queen. The sight might well have angered the Marquis whom Tylor didn t even bothered bowing to. Taking a peek at the Marquis in curiosity at this, Jax was disconcerted to find the man standing there as pale as a ghost, his eyes dead set fixed on Gron. He could see the man literally placing a shaking hand on the central large table to keep his balance.

Pardon my intrusion at this unseeming time, but I believe you have a more imminent danger than the possible coming of war. , Tylor spoke respectfully to the Queen. The Queen cocked her eyebrows at this but gestured for him to continue.

We have reasons to believe that something more dangerous is heading towards your beautiful city. With your permission, our small party will endeavor to locate this entity and identify whether it will pose a significant risk to your people.

Surprised at this turn of conversation, the Queen quietly folded her arms across her laps as she pondered at this request.

Charlatans! You dare to claim such a preposterous , exploded the Marquis but his words trailed off as the Queen turned around and gave him an angry stare.

Just went things couldn t seem to get any worse, an old nobleman came striding into the room with another man through the open door. Seeing the Queen within the room, both men swiftly bowed respectfully to her.

Begging your pardon, Queen Marianne, but I have here with me a messenger bearing a report of utmost urgency. The old nobleman spoke without raising himself from the bow.

Not waiting for the nobleman to finish his sentence properly in the presence of the Queen, the man quickly stood straight and spoke.

My Queen, the outpost at the Dragons Ravine has been lost.

Shocked at this news, Queen Marianne could only raise her hand to her lips and gasp softly.

Who did this? roared the Marquis in outrage, If it s those bastard Gobartians, I swear I will march our army down to their settlements myself.

Shut yourself, brother, and let the man continue, The Queen said stiffly. Turning around to face the quivering man, she gestured for him to continue with the report. But before he could, Alecson stepped forward and grasped the messenger firmly by the shoulders.

The General? What about the General? Alecson asked urgently.

With that, tears slid down the messenger s face and he made a futile effort to hide them but covering it with his hand. With his head covered, he shook his head wearily. Alecson s hand trembled at this horrible news, and he slowly released his grip, overwhelmed.

It appears that what you said appears to be true, The queen glanced at Tylor, This entity, do you know what it is? Better yet, do you have a way to stop its advance?

I have a rough idea as to what it is, as to how to fight it, we need to get to Fort Relic to do that. Tylor said respectfully to the queen.

The next half an hour was spent listening to the Queen s questions and Tylor s answer as well as the messengers report on the entity, strategies to form, equipments and men to gather for the task. It appears very much likely that the Marquis s plan to carry out a war over the Gobartians will put on a in definite hold until this matter was resolved.

But Jax only listened to all this half-heartedly. He was disturbed by the startled reaction of the Marquis when he first saw Gron. It almost looks like the Marquis had mistaken Gron for someone else. But the expression on the face of the Marquis now was what that bothers Jax the most.

It was an expression of a determined man, glaring menacingly at an oblivious Gron.

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	28. Chapter 28

8888888888 ((( Chapter 28 )))8888888888

In the wee morning hours, a lone window on the Palace of Arleria beckoned forth with a warm light. But the same could not be said of the occupant within. Nervous, his wits teetering near the edge of insanity, the figure pondered the latest events with both fear and frustration.

"How could this happen?" the figured could be heard muttering repeatedly to himself. "This must not be. After all that I have done, I will not let all my plans go to waste."

Glancing at the window in agitation, the figure fumed at the lateness of the hour, wondering when "that" person was going to make his appearance. Whenever the services of the "individual" was needed, all he had to do was to light a candle in the early mornings of the day, a time when even the farmer peasants have yet to rise from their bed for their very early morning chores.

Just as he turned around to glare impatiently at the lonely candle shedding its feeble light, the room's occupant felt a breath of air brush past his face and ruffled his hair slightly. Gathering whatever dignity he thought he still possessed, the figure pointedly turned his back to the balcony.

On the balcony, the shadow of a figure remained on a kneeled position, one fist planted on the ground before him in a show of obedience. Letting a few minutes of silence pass to show his displeasure, the figure within the room clasped his hands behind his back.

"Do you know what to do?" the man asked finally in a soft voice. Behind him, a rustle of silky cloth was his only reply as the shadow shrouded figure nodded its head mutely. Despite the shadowy person's reliability from past missions, the agitated figure repeated his requests once again.

"Let them get rid of the hindrance first, after which I will send for my men. Once they are alone, deal with them and remove the bodies." Another rustle of cloth could be heard once again.

"Go."

And the shadowy figure was gone, its method of disappearance as mysterious as its appearance. The man breathed easier then, feeling that a great burden has been removed from his shoulders. For after all, the figure has never failed him before and he was confident it won't fail him ever.

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Fort Relic, a mighty fortress that overshadowed the massive ravine the small party of hunters was riding through. Even a few miles away, the party could already spot the massive sentry towers that towered over even the top edges of the ravine.

Made of pure granite, the fortress stood tall and proud. Unlike the outpost that was destroyed the night before, Fort Relic had managed to remain more or less structurally sound after years of neglect. Built from the alliance between Gobartia and Arleria, the mighty fortress was constructed as a final form of defense against an Ancient Dragon according to historical lore. As to what dragon it guarded against, even the oldest among the Arlerians do not know.

Up front of the fortress, Jax was told by Alecson that the ravine branched into two. From the way that Alecson had described the ravine, Jax had surmised that the massive fortress was not erected to halt the passage of a dragon, but rather to divert its path.

Once within the stables of the fortress and their horses adequately taken cared off by the soldiers that had accompanied them here, Alecson had led them up a long flight of stairs that left even Gron slightly out of breath. Grinning like a child showing his friends a brand new toy, Alecson opened a door and led the small party of monster hunters in.

It led into a small balcony within the insides of the fortress, within a massively huge room. On the balcony, the hunters feasted their eyes on the wondrous mechanical constructions that filled every inch of the huge room. Filled with gigantic gears and pulleys tens of times bigger than a man, with great lengths of huge chains stretched all over them and in some cases, through them. The complexity of their design left no room for the hunters to even guess as to its purpose.

"What is this place?" Gron asked in awe, his eyes still roaming over all the complex machinery.

"We call it the Machine room," Alecson replied with a small amount of pride in his voice, "In ages long past, our people and the Gobartians worked together to build this fortress as well as this amazing machinery."

"Sadly, after almost a century of disuse and neglect, the whole machinery is virtually useless now. It pains me to see all of this marvelous technological machinery gone to waste." Alecson's voice drooped a little in disappointment.

"What does it do?" queried a curious Gil.

"Ahh, for this question, I suppose it is best to show you then to explain. Come come, follow me please." Alecson gestured excitedly, letting slip most of his noble attitude in his eagerness to show this wonder of a fortress to them.

After another long flight of stairs upwards and passing through one final door to the outside, they found themselves once again outside the fortress on a large landing at the topmost section of the fortress. After the tiring climb up the stairs and breathing in the dusty interiors of the fortress, all of them greedily took in long deep breaths of fresh cool air.

On the landing, the first thing they noticed was that they could see a large swath of land from all around them. Not a surprising fact considering the landing was situated right at the very top of the fortress which towered even over the top edges of the deep ravine. To the front of them, a low wall was build around the perimeter of the landing and several ancient, rusting cannons were situated at various points.

Bringing them up front towards the middle part of the landings edge, Alecson pointed down at a big round button-like platform.

"This button activates the machine room," Alecson then pointed downwards off the low wall, "which in turns causes 'That' to jut out with incredible force. At least that's what our history tells us."

Glancing down over the edge of the low wall, Jax could see four massive barbed spikes sticking out of the wall. As thick around as an ancient oak tree and sadly covered with rust all over, it still looks formidable with its sharp edged barbs.

"If it still works, that is." Jax mused thoughtfully to himself. Turning around, he caught sight of Gron staring hard at the button, probably thinking the same thoughts as him at the moment.

"Go ahead, give it a stomp." Alecson laughed jokingly at Gron, guessing his thoughts as well. Gingerly stepping on it at first, then a few more times after that, all the button did was make dull clanking sounds as Gron stepped on it.

"Pity. It might come in handy at a time like this." Gron said and Alecson nodded in mute agreement.

"What about those?" Gil pointed to their left, indicating the long stretch of terraces carved into the ravine's left side. One on top of the other by at least fifty yards, the terraces stretch far and beyond their sight as it curved around a bend in the ravine. On the lower terrace, numerous big crossbow-like contraptions could be seen. On the upper terrace, miniature catapults that can fling rocks ten times the size of a human head are placed one after another all along the terrace.

"How many of those defenses are there? Are they operational?" Neela eyed the weapons speculatively, hoping that they are more or less in a better working condition then the unusable 'barbed spikes'.

Interrupted by Neela as he was about to answer Gron's question, Alecson snapped his mouth shut and considered the answer to her question instead. Before he could answer her in turn, however, they were all interrupted by Tylor as he stood near the low wall, Miki surprisingly perched on his back instead of on Neela's.

"I think its best you have your men check the integrity of those defenses," Tylor spoke and pointed at the contraptions on the terraces. When Alecson only returned a blank confused stare at him, Tylor added, "We don't have much time, it will be here long before dusk."

Neela made a small gasp while Alecson looked on with an unconvinced look on his face.

"The scout says we have roughly two days and now you are telling we have less than one?"

Not really listening to Alecson, both Gron and Jax looked first at Tylor, then at Miki peeking its head over Tylors right shoulder. Understanding their questioning looks, Miki gave a small nod and Gron felt the tiny hairs all over his arm prick up in alarm. Knowing full well that Alecson will not listen to him, Jax only turned his head and look at Gron mutely.

"Cousin, I think its best you do as Tylor says."

Turning pale in complexion, Alecson only stared at Gron for a split second. Neither hesitating nor questioning his Lord further on this, Alecson swiftly moved to the edge of the landing, peering down at his man of some five hundred strong and began shouting orders in a rapid fire way. His strong commanding voice reverberated downwards and his men had no trouble understanding what was needed from them.

Like Alecson with Gron, the soldiers of Arleria did not question nor did they hesitate. In organized groups, each spread out and began inspecting the catapults and terrain mounted crossbows. Once again, Jax found himself admiring the efficiency and discipline of the Arlerian soldiers as well as at Alecson's capable ability to command.

At first, when they had set out for Fort Relic, Jax had been shocked to find that Alecson had only gathered about five hundred strong man-at-arms against something that can knocked down an old outpost like a straw castle. But he was quick to realize why as he saw the main force of the Arlerian soldiers helping the local Arlerian civilians in preparing to evacuate their beloved city should the worse comes to pass.

The civilians in turn, took the terrible news with surprising calm as their Queen explained the situation to them at an emergency announcement. There were no riots of distress, there were no angry shouts of demand for the Royal family to do something about the problem and most of all, the news was passed down along the huge crowd with minimal embellishments. Once each and every one of the civilians was made clear of the situation, quiet groups were formed with distinct group leaders giving calm orders on evacuating procedures. Everything seemed as if such a crisis has been prepared for a long time ago.

As it turns out, it really was planned since the very first founders build their very first rock building in Arleria. Though it has been a full century or more of relative peace from major wars, Alecson explained to them on their journey to the Fort that strict rules and training has been imposed on both soldiers and civilians of Arlerian ever since its first settlement. Emergency evacuation drills were conducted twice a year. When asked why this has been so, Alecson only shrugged. Now with the return of wyverns, Jax began to slowly understand why.

"Since we are at it, let's go help the soldiers out." Jax said.

After the next few hours spent going around the terraces and inspecting the defenses, it was concluded that an overall amount of eighty three out of one hundred fifty terrain mounted crossbows are in a more or less operational state while only fifty six catapults are useable. Despairing slightly over this, the small group of defenders began distributing boulders and crossbow bolts among the operational defenses.

It was during this moment, roughly two hours before dusk that they all began to feel the land tremble beneath their feet. With most of their preparations completed, a group of five were stationed at every crossbow site while a group of eight was assigned to the catapults as per orders from Alecson. Knowing full well that they do not have enough manpower to fully man all available defenses, it was agreed upon that each group at the far end of the terraces was to abandon their stations as soon as their target gets out of range and move to the next free defense ahead of the line and continue their assault.

After that was a tense half hour of waiting as the land began to shake more viciously and the sun began its slow descent onto the horizon. Keeping their eyes set on the bend in the ravine, they all stared and waited until their eyes began to tear from the strain.

But their eyes quickly dried when they opened wide in shock and alarm as the head of the entity began to peek slowly out from the bend. A massive horned head began emerging from around the bend, quickly followed by a massive body. All present seem locked in shock as they watch its monstrous body size slowly moved into full view.

Looking nothing so much more as a massive mountain walking on four legs, the entity was a slight azure gray in color with massive thick scales covering its entire body. Jagged spike-like scales jutted and curved slightly towards the rear from its back with smaller pointed ones protruding from its front legs. Jax fancied himself able to pitch a tent and sleep comfortably on its broad back and still have plenty of room to invite friends.

Its head, long and reptilian in appearance, spotted a great big gaping maw filled with jagged hill size rough teeth that could probably chomp two quarters of Pokke village with ease if it felt inclined to do so. Above its nostrils, a great huge single horn jutted upwards towards the heavens, its length almost as long as its head. Each step it took shook the grounds heavily and numerous boulders shaken loose from its perch tumbled down the ravine towards the small army of defenders. If allowed to pass through Arleria's last defenses unchecked, this monstrosity would probably rumble its way through the great city without even slowing down.

Recovering from his initial shock at the sheer size of their objective, Alecson immediately shoots off a rapid fire of instructions to his fellow soldiers. Most of them, especially the veteran sub commanders in charge of their respective divisions, sprang into action without hesitation, prodding along those that recovered a bit more slowly than them. As they well know, any minute they can gain by slowing this monster down, they give the people of Arleria additional more time to evacuate in the event that their attempt to divert the monsters path failed.

As a flurry of crossbow bolts and massive boulders were launched towards the monster, Jax and his team remained standing where they are. Both Tylor and Jax were the only two to scrutinize the lumbering hulk, the rest with the exception of Neela glanced at them, hoping that they have some plan to divert the monsters path.

Despair slowly crept into Jax's soul as he watched the huge monster shrugged off the attacks, blissfully unaware that it is under attack as it lumbered onwards towards Fort Relic. All the boulders and crossbow bolts did was chip off small pieces of its rock like scale that covered its hide.

"Aim for the head!" Jax shouted to his back. Hearing him, Alecson repeated the order more loudly and there were a lot of screeching noises as the soldiers tried to turn their defenses to aim at the head. Most of the pivot base of the defenses have rusted tightly together and it took quite a few minutes to wrestle with the mechanism just to turn it sufficiently enough to aim at the monsters head. The fact that the monster is steadily moving forward did not help either.

The mounted defenses were just as useless against the head as it was against the body. Bolts after bolts, boulder after boulder, most of them bounced off without causing any significant damage to the beast. Several shots, whether by intention or coincidence, flew towards the right eye. Whether by instinct or quick reflexes or both, the monster's eyelid which is equally thick and tough like the rest of its body always seemed to close at the right moment, causing the projectiles to bounce off harmlessly.

The only thing that Jax manage to note was that the monster seemed to limp slightly from its right hind leg. There was a large patch of lighter colored scale covering its thigh, giving Jax the impression that the scale there is thinner, as though the huge monster had suffered some massive wound there once.

Facing Tylor and watching him mutely, Jax noted the tall man roaming his gaze all over the monsters body, looking for weaknesses and saw with satisfaction as Tylor's eyes narrow and scrutinized the limping hind leg. Perhaps sensing Jax watching him, Tylor suddenly turned his head to look at him.

"What is it, Tylor? And how do we stop it?" Jax asked quietly, not trusting his own voice to sound confident against such an overwhelming odd.

"Ancient Lao Shan Lung. It means "Ancient Mountain Dragon" in the eastern dialects," Tylor faced back at the monster, grinding his next words in frustration, "and your guess is as good as mine as to how we can stop this thing."

"Neela?" Jax turned and queried. Squinting her eyes in concerntration, Neela finally shook her head after a minute, sending her golden blonde hair to whirl around her slender neck.

"I can't get through to it." Neela tightened her lips into a thin line in anxiety. "It sounds almost like it is humming a hymn to itself." Neela added softly to herself as an afterthought.

Several soldiers ran past Jax's small group as they abandoned their previous posts to run ahead to the next free mounted defenses down the line, their urgent shout to their comrades to hurry indicative of their fear and worry in their tones. By now, every one of them felt like they are attacking a granite mountain with toothpicks and mud balls.

"Neela, you have the sharpest eye in our group. Get to those mounted crossbows and aim for its eye. Gil, Gron, Go and give her a hand mounting the bolts." Jax ordered urgently to them. Neela and Gil immediately races down the line, but Gron stayed behind, turning to face first the monster, than at the Fort, then at his hammer. Alecson, who had also stayed behind to protect his King, also noted Gron's sudden weird behavior.

If one were to think that the monster lumbering away poses no threat to the army in any way, they were in for a big shock. Boulders atop the ravine or perched at the sides began bounding down towards them, shaken loose by the heaving caused by each step the monster made. Some of the boulders, bigger than several man bunched up into a ball, some bigger than a small house, crushed the unsuspecting defenders as they concentrated their efforts at assaulting the Lao Shan Lung.

One such incident nearly made Jax heart stopped in mid-beat. A huge boulder, shaken loose from its perch ran rumbling towards where Neela and Gil were. Busy with firing crossbow bolts at the Lao Shan Lung, Neela never even knew she was in danger. Thankfully, Gil did his job well and kept an eye for falling debris and immediately spotted the incoming boulder. Before Jax could have shouted an unnecessary warning, Gil had his shield out and ready, literally swatting the huge boulder aside with ease.

Aside from falling boulders, the soldiers also faced danger from the unmaintained mounted defenses. One such incident, the bow strings snapped from the tension and whipped around in a wide circle. The force of the whipping string was such that any soldiers unfortunate enough to be within its arc of motion were instantly decapitated. Somewhere above, Jax heard the cracking of splintering wood as a catapult broke apart at mid launch, its heavy timbers falling apart and crushing those that manned it.

Just when things couldn't get any more out of control, Jax heard the Lao Shan Lung let out a massive grunt and before everyone's astonished eyes, heaved itself upright onto its two hind legs. Literally grinding their necks upwards just to keep its head in their sights, the massive creature towered way over the ravines top edges, towered over Fort Relic by more than half its length.

Mouth agape at the sight, everyone to the last man knew that if the monster were to come crashing down with its front feet, even the mighty Fort Relic would not be able to withstand such an attack. With its recent injury to its right hind leg, the monster advanced slightly slower than when it was down on all four, giving Jax some additional minutes to think. Before he or Tylor could think of what to do next, Jax felt a hand grasp his arm painfully, urgently.

"Do you trust me?" Gron asked out of the blue. Desperate and frustrated at the sight of the upright Lao Shan Lung, Jax was about to rebuke Gron impatiently but stopped. There was an unfamiliar glint to the eyes of his dear friend, a sparkle that seem to shine from deep within. Not trusting himself to speak for some reason, Jax can only nod his head yes.

"Get it back on all four, with its head as close to the fort as possible. I'm going up there." Gron spoke softly. It was only after some time that Jax wondered how he could have heard Gron amidst all the rumbling of falling rocks and the thunder of stomping feet. Gron just stood there, waiting for his friend, his leader to give this permission, this one possibly final permission. Jax felt a shudder ran through his body as this thought crossed his mind.

He knew he should refuse, object to sending him possibly to his death, but Jax found himself once again staring deep into Gron's eyes, thoroughly amazed at this sudden change. Normally prone to using his brute strength and huge hammer while waiting for Jax to make all the important battle decisions, Jax could only guess at how this sudden change within his friend came about.

Wishing he wasn't making a mistake that will cost his friend his life, Jax reluctantly nodded while wondering how in the blazes he was going to knock the Lao Shan Lung back down on all four massive paws.

Having the same thoughts as Jax crossing his own mind, Gron's eyes misted a little and he gave Jax's arm a grateful squeeze. Then he was gone at a dead run for the stairs that winds its way up to the topmost section of the fort. Alecson, ever faithful to his cousin and king, turned around and was about to follow when Jax fast reflexes stopped him in his tracks.

"If you truly consider Gron as your lord and king, have faith in him on this one. You have your own men to worry about here. Also, you would only be in his way." A wave of indecision flooded Alecson, his desire to protect his king and Jax words clashing violently within his heart.

Thankfully, Jax was spared the need to think of more persuasive word to say to the loyal commander when Tylor, with his usual way of doing things without letting anyone else know what he planned, leaped off the side of the ravine, sliding all the way on his armored boots down the steep side to the bottom. Not bothering to see Alecson's final decision, Jax released him and leapt after Tylor, leaving behind little Miki and Alecson to watch after them in astonishment.

Sliding down the sides of the ravine was exhilarating, but Jax was starting to feel heavy headed, a deep pounding of rushing blood entering and exiting his brain. It felt almost as though he had grown an extra heart at the very center of his brain, pulsing and causing an annoying headache to grow.

Reaching the bottom, Jax shook his head fiercely in an effort to rid himself of the pounding headache but achieved little except making the pounding seemingly to get worse. Crunching his eyebrows and forcing himself to ignore the headache through sheer will power, Jax located Tylor running off to stand directly in the path of the "walking" dragon.

Not wanting to get in his way, Jax ran after him and stood behind Tylor, wondering all the while what in the blazes Tylor was planning to do. All he can think of amidst the rushing blood in his brain was that Tylor is literally inviting the huge dragon to make a foot mat out of him.

Judging his distance from the creature, Tylor backtracked a few more steps and Jax realized the tall man was estimating the distance of where the creature will land before the fortress. Satisfied with the distance, Tylor withdraw his great sword and held it posed above and behind himself. Grunting in concentration, Tylor began focusing all his energies to this one grand attack.

Jax saw Tylor's sword start to glow a fiery red, seemingly to vibrate even. Sand around the tall man began to leap and jump, forming a radial circle of clear ground around him. As the ground vibrated from both Tylor's energy gathering and the dragon's big footsteps, his headache steadily got stronger and stronger and it took an even greater effort on his part to stay focus on what was going to happen next.

Just then, the great sword suddenly pulsed and emitted a slight flash of light after which Tylor roared at the top of his lungs and swung it towards the dragon's right thigh. Jax's hope rose for a moment and his headache subsided somewhat as he saw a crescent shaped flash of fiery red light speeding towards the dragon. There were rumors going around in Pokke village after Tylor and Nemesis's black Diablos hunt (Jax discovered later to his surprised that this news titbit was told by Nemesis himself, after he recovered from his near fatal wound) where Tylor literally sliced off an entire cliff face (how large was the chunk sliced off grew as the rumor was passed from man to man, so embellished it was that when Jax heard the rumor, it was said that Tylor totally sliced off an entire mountain).

Though Jax found the rumor a bit hard to swallow, Jax found himself thinking as he watched the light hit the dragon's thigh that this might just be the only way to knock the dragon down back on all four. A great explosion rocked the clearing that shook the ground, great smatterings of shattered rock scales from the thigh flew in all directions. Alecson's men began to cheer when they saw the dragon staggered back a step, thoroughly surprised at the sudden pain on its leg.

But the cheers slowly died as the smoke cleared from the explosion and the dragon began to take another step forward. The only thing Tylor's attack achieved was blow apart several pieces of large scales and exposing a leathery dark greenish looking hide. The wound bled a little, but obviously it didn't bleed enough to make the dragon unable to sustain its upright walking motion with its injured leg.

Jax's hope died along with the cheers. And suddenly his headache seemed to blow out of proportion, feeling as though Tylor had flashed the attack at Jax's brain instead of the dragon's thigh. Clutching his head in in his hands and gritting his teeth against the pain, Jax lost his sense of balance as he wondered why this is happening.

Staggering a few steps as his head felt squeezed between a metal vice, Jax screamed at himself, reminding himself that Tylor's attack didn't work, that his best friend was at the moment at the very top of the fortress, in complete faith that his leader, that Jax will be able to find a way to knock the dragon down on all four paws.

Amidst the frustration and sense of hopelessness, Jax saw a sudden vision of the huge dragon lumbering forward, unhindered by smashing boulders and poking bolts. It would walk on forward and smashed down on the insignificant fortress standing in its path. He saw in his vision Gron at the top of the fortress, glaring up in shock to see a massive paw coming down on top of him, smashing the fortress down in one simple stomp.

With the fortress out if its way, Jax saw the creature make its way through Arleria, mercilessly squashing the citizens and leaving behind a river of blood and a ground full of flatten bloody meat masses. Jax saw the Queen of Arleria standing at one of the balconies of the grand palace, defiantly, unafraid. The huge dragon just rammed its way through the palace, not bothering to go around it instead. Jax could hear the screams, the shouts of pain, the sound of crushed bones and buildings, felt it almost like he was there at its destruction himself.

Jax clutch his head fiercely between his hands. Anyone standing nearby would have the impression that Jax was attempting to squeeze his own head into a bloody pulp. Jax couldn't take it anymore and dropped down on his knees, his head bent backwards and he started to scream a silent scream. Having gritted his teeth so hard that he bled through his gums, his mouth opened wide in a gaping maw of bloodied teeth.

Just when he felt like smashing his head against the ground, of whipping out his carving knife just to slice his own head off, to do anything to stop the excruciating pain sizzling in his brain, Jax heard a voice amidst the pain and the flashing visions.

"I can give you the power….."

Then there was a roar, he couldn't tell who made the roar, felt a rush of adrenaline and flurry of bright lights.

Then he saw no more.

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